Medica Materia
by TripWire- dono
Summary: "It's past forty minutes now! You said the manager would be here. Where are they?" she crossed her arms indignantly. "Ya lookin' at 'im" he smirked. How could this 16-year-old, city-boy possibly run this rural apothecary AND own it! Arato Hisako was regretting doing business with this infuriating and smug boy... Hisako/OC
1. Clitoria Ternatea

**Good evening :)**

 **I hope everyone's doing well. This is my first Food Wars! Oneshot. I often find oneshots challenging to write, because I have to fit all the stages of a story into one short story... so I apologise now if this one shot a bit too... loooong for this fandom.**

 **As you know this is a Hisako centered story. I don't have a particular like nor dislike towards her, but I've found her skills in Medicinal cooking to be interesting. While thinking about her one day as I was cleaning out my kitchen pantry, I suddenly came upon my idea of a little story just for her! So for all the Hisako fans out there, I hope that you will find enjoyment in this :)**

 **I've going through a rough patch with 'A Touch of Saffron' my Takumixoc story at the moment. I found a discrepancy in one of future chapters, that I need to fix up** ** **before I update the story**. Oh the things that escape my notice! It's frustrating!**

 **I guess, in the meantime. I'm posting this one to get out of the way, so that I shall have a clear mind for my main Food Wars! story :)**

 **Enjoy!**

* * *

 _Chapter 1 - Clitoria Ternatea_

* * *

 _ **The First Visit**_

Hisako looked up from the piece of paper tight in her grip.

' _This must be the place'_

It was a bright, sunny day and Hisako couldn't think of a better time to travel beyond the suburban Tokyo district to do a bit of fact-finding. Part of her duties was of course to look after Erina's schedules for the day, liaise with Tootsuki officials for Erina-sama, prepare her palate cleansers for taste testing appointments, pre-order her favourite _shoujou manga_ , perform weekly massages for Erina-sama, and all in all, make sure that Erina-sama had everything she needed to have a smooth week. The other part of her duties was to chase up on matters regarding her branch of the Arato family and look after her own personal herb and spice stocks. Today was just like any other day no matter what part of Japan she travelled to.

This was the first time she'd ever been to the countryside.

It was some time ago the Arato family had lost one of their top suppliers, _Hakurei-zan,_ entrusted with providing the spices and herbs they used abundantly in their medicinal cooking and research. The Arato family held tight bonds with their suppliers and producers, and their impeccable trust allowed them to receive only the best quality available in Japan, and in some instances from across the seas. However, tragedy struck when _Hakurei-zan,_ whom they normally placed at least half of their orders with, suddenly closed down after a large mountain landslide disaster destroyed their herb farm. It was with a heavy heart that the dear supplier didn't have enough resources to start up their business and farm again, and so they had made the painful decision to close down their plantation. Hisako was personally very saddened and she still felt her heart clenching as she had a strong beyond with one of the workers. The rosette-haired Tootsuki student wished that she had received the news first hand, because she maybe she could've done something to help save their business before it was too late! But unfortunately she wasn't a prominent member of the illustrious Arato family therefore she didn't find out about it until weeks later. Other issues cropped up such as not being able to find alternate means restock on Erina-sama's favourite Chinese herbal tea in time.

So here she was out in the countryside, checking out the new supplier the Arato Family were interested in.

The rosette haired student stepped onto the desolate rural train station. Once the train finally chugged away, She was instantly hit by a wave of fresh air. It was so different to the city! It was clean and crisp, and the smell of the spring wild flowers swirled around her. It was invigorating! She could also smell the healthy irrigation water for the rice paddies in the distance, which made her feel like she had stepped off from busy city life into a Miyazaki movie. The vibrant greens and blues of the flora and clear skies blended wonderfully with the more muted tones of the lush rice-stalks and the thick foliage of the low country-mountains. It was beautiful and idyllic, and Hisako was instantly in love with the pure scenery. She looked around and spotted what seemed to be a small village just further along the soft dirt road which winded away from the small, empty train station. Hisako unlocked the handle of her travel case and slid it right up so that she could drag it with her. The light chatter of children playing caught her attention and she looked around to see young boys dressed in shorts, singlets and sandals playing with a tattered ball around the outskirts of the wild fields.

It brought a smile to her.

Hisako had initially thought it would be fine to dress in her school uniform, but looking at where she was, she realised it was silly… It felt like she was a piece of pink glitter that landed on top a beautiful traditional Japanese ink painting. _She didn't fit in._ Oh well it couldn't be helped. She hoped that nobody would give her too many strange looks.

"Alright, so our new supplier should be down this lane" she mumbled to herself.

Hisako strode briskly through the traditional village. It wasn't _that_ traditional, it had more of a _Showa_ period feel now that she thought about it. It certainly looked like a time gone by where modernity still hadn't caught up with the place. Hisako never had a profound interest in Japanese rural areas, but she very much regretted it now, because how could she have overlooked the possibility of visiting such a magical and mystical place? Oh, she was way in over her head. This little countryside town wasn't magical or mystical… it was so different to the city of Tokyo, that it might as well have been part of a folklore of storybook.

The chatter grew a bit louder as she entered in a bit more crowded area. The country women were dressed in nice, plain, modest clothing and the men were dressed in sturdy working clothes as if for farming, black-smithing or carpentry. All the _obaa-sans_ and _ojii-sans_ were dressed in traditional clothing whilst the children were dressed in more modern styled shirt, shorts and dresses. This must be the village square. Oh boy… here came the odd looks. Hisako swallowed the lump in her throat and tried to be inconspicuous. There were more shops around and she spotted a nice traditional Japanese diner, a grocery store, a small bookstore, a candy store, a store that sold traditional Japanese wares, a public bathhouse and a _ryoukan_ just up ahead. She looked further down the town square and there were a few more shops. It looked like a place only the savvy tourists would be able to find.

' _Here it is!'_

Hisako smiled when she finally stepped in front of her destination. It was tucked away in a little lane which ended just right there. Behind it she could see more fields and the surrounding low mountains. It was a medium sized building made of both mahogany shaded timber and terracotta coloured wooden planks The store windows flanked the door on each side, had a little bit of grime on the corners of the panes. The window frames were beautifully aged wood, but still looked quite sturdy and strong. It was an old building to say the least. It's roof was beautiful and definitely completed the traditional oriental Japanese look with it's dark green tiling and with its gables and eaves curving gently. She figured back in the day of his prime, it was a very impressive looking shop.

 ** _'Ryuusenka Apothecary'_**

The large sign hung above the door on a dark forest green wooden panel which looked badly worn. The name of the story was painted in both Japanese and English. The script was either gilded or painted on in gold, which shone brightly against the sun. Hisako peered through the windows for any signs of life in there, but alas there was none. She was surprised the door wasn't a traditional Japanese sliding door. It was actually a antique Western door and it too had window panes embedded into it to allow people to see further inside. It looked quite... _odd. S_ he gripped the brass handle of the ornate door and pushed in.

 _Ding Ding!_

That almost scared her! The bell ringing above the door didn't echo but it was sharp enough to startle her. She wrinkled her nose at the powerful musky smell of dried herbs and spices which permeated the whole store. It was like being in the Arato storehouse, but the scent of the blends was different. She gasped at how high the ceiling was. The elaborate cornices were mottled from aging and there were about three modern industrial styled lighting which gave off a soft glow. It must've been installed only recently. Three out of four walls were lined with towering wooden shelves which were fitted with roller ladders. There was not a space to spare as each shelving contained clear glass jars of dried herbs. The variety of earthen colours took her breath away because not even the Arato storehouse stocked this many different types of herbs. Each jar was labelled with both Japanese and English script. She could tell these jars must have been sitting there for decades by the discolouration of the glass and the aging tea-coloured labels that was starting to peel in the corners. They must be the 'display' jars. No self-respecting apothecary would ever sell dried herbs in clear jars sitting in direct sunlight. Those herbs were definitely unusable. Her travel suitcase rolled noisily across the aging timber floor and she fought to cringe from the really loud noise she was causing in the very quiet apothecary. Some of the shelves also contained aging tomes ranging from leather and buckram-bound books as well as traditional Japanese scrolls piled messily together. She ran her fingers across them and was surprised they weren't dusty.

"Hello?"

A few seconds later, some shuffling came from another doorway behind the counter. Hisako tried to crane her head to the side to see if there was indeed anyone there.

" _Just a sec"_ came a voice.

Hisako blushed and resumed inspecting this deceptively small apothecary. It was… _bigger on the inside._ Behind the counter were rows upon rows of little square drawers. They were definitely where the herbalist or pharmacist stored their herbs for the customer. Each little wooden draw had the same type of labels at the jars, tucked inside the vintage label file name card holder which looked a lot more modern than anything else in the shop. The counter had more display items. It included a small healthy looking _bonsai_ plant, a few more apothecary jars, but this time with beautiful flowering tea in shades of red, orange and yellow in its full bloom. She wondered if it was fresh or was it still preserved in some sort of preserving liquid for display only.

When Erina-sama asked her about the lemon balm tea she made for her yesterday Hisako instantly thought there was something wrong! On the contrary, her fears dissipated when her noble charge actually complimented it highly. The blend of lemon-balm tea was actually new to the Arato family as they had recently changed suppliers to _Ryuusenka Apothecary_. Of course Erina-sama noticed the difference straight away and she expressed how pleased she was with this blend. Hisako had decided to leave out the part that _Hakurei-zan_ had closed down and so was forced to find another supplier as soon as possible. Erina-sama had enough troubles than to worry about matters of the Arato Family. It just so happened that she ran out of her current supply and had to dip into the Arato family supply because Wednesday was lemon-balm tea day, and there was no way she could serve Erina-sama anything else on Wednesday tea-time. Erina-sama's favourable critique was more than enough for Hisako to run off to her family to get the address of the supplier so that she could check it out more of their products herself.

So here she was, surprised that it wasn't anything like she had imaged the supplier would be. It wasn't as… _big_ as she had thought.

"Sorry for the wait, what can I get ya, sweetheart?"

Hisako snapped herself out of her musings and looked towards who was addressing her.

It was a boy her age.

She stopped herself from gaping like an idiot. He had snow white hair which spiked messily behind him, looking as soft as downy feathers and his jagged fringe shielded his left eye. His eyes were a stunning emerald green that reminded her of the jewels she often admired at the jewellery stores with Erina-sama. She felt a blush creeping up her cheeks as she couldn't rip her eyes away from those piercing green orbs. His eyes looked far too mature for his age, as if they'd seen a lot, and acquired a lot of wisdom. It almost eerily glowed in the dim lighting of the apothecary. But his face shape definitely hadn't matured to that of a fully grown adult yet. He had slightly tanned skin as if he'd been in the sun one too many times. The corners of his thin lips quirked up in the corner into a crooked grin as he gazed at her coolly. He didn't look like he belonged to the countryside either. He was an anachronism, he looked too _modern_ for this place. He looked like he should be in the shopping district in Shibuya chatting up girls. He wore a white hooded sweater over a white V-neck shirt. On top of the white hooded sweater, he wore a black faux-leather jacket. He also donned dark coloured jeans and a pair of black _Converse_ classic cuts. He had emerged from the door behind the counter with his thumbs hooked into his jean pockets, catching her by surprise.

Hisako willed her blush to disappear!

…She wasn't used to seeing a boy this good-looking…

"Uh…oh um…" Hisako fumbled for another piece of paper from her pocket, hoping this boy hadn't noticed her blushing. "I-I'd like to get two h-hundred grams of dried lemon b-balm. Uh… two hundred and f-fifty grams of dried m-marjarom, one hundred and f-fifty grams of ground clo—"

"Just give me ya list"

He chuckled and shook his head as he yanked the folded piece of paper from her trembling fingers. Hisako gasped in surprise and was a bit to tell him how rude it was interrupt a person in the middle of speaking. However, it was too late when he already moved around to the other side of the counter, his eyes quickly scanning her list as he walked.

"Quite a bit of shoppin' ya doin'" he commented through a smirk.

Hisako coughed into her hand and narrowed her eyes. She tried not to look at him.

"It's for the Arato family" she replied sternly.

"Right. We've just struck a deal with 'em. Ya part of the family too, or are ya runnin' their errand?" he asked.

The boy began pulling out different drawers and taking scoops of dried herbs and gently placed them onto an electronic scale. Hisako watched his actions as carefully as a hawk, inspecting the quality of the herbs he was scooping out of the drawers. So far from eyeballing it, the colour was good and didn't look moist of stale. The smell was so fragrant and heavenly and Hisako instantly felt relaxed from immersing in its scent. Whenever Hisako went to a herb store, she always asked the herbalist to package her herbs in front of her so that she could inspect it for herself. She never trusted a herbalist who disappeared into the back to package the herbs. She heard stories of the old 'bait and switch' tactics. Fortunately, she was too careful to let it happen to her.

"I'm Arato Hisako, so yes, I'm part of the family" she introduced herself confidently.

"Hmmm… Coulda placed an order 'head of time, ya know. Save the trouble of recitin' a speech when ya come 'n' pick 'em up" he grunted as he carefully wrapped the first item on her list in specialist paper and tied it off with twine.

Hisako felt her blood boil at the way he just brushed off her name. Didn't he care that her family was _the_ Arato Family, close friends of the _Nakiri_ Family?! Her family was probably this little country-side apothecary's biggest client! That meant she was too! Probably the biggest and most famous clients they will ever have! But no matter, he will eventually learn. Instead she decided to recompose herself and exhibit the poise and grace representative of the Arato Family, and would make Erina-sama proud.

Besides, he couldn't even speak properly!

"So how long has this apothecary been open for?" she bit out in a clipped tone, trying to change the topic and intimidate him by looking down her nose just like Erina-sama did.

"Two years" he said without a care.

His voice sent goose bumps up her arms. It was silky and clear, and wasn't too deep. As if there was still a sense of childishness to it. It was a soothing voice too which Hisako was unhappy with how it was having an effect of her.

"We hand grow 'n' dry our crop. We also do essential oils, tea blends, salves 'n' soaps too. On request we grind dried herbs 'n' spices to powder for customers if they're into that"

"That's a lot for a small apothecary" Hisako nodded, feeling a bit impressed with this particular store, but trying not to actually show it in her voice.

He just shrugged his shoulders and flashed her a smirk. She blushed again. She grounded her teeth in irritation.

"Where do you grow your herbs and spices then?" she tried to intimidate him again.

He jutted his thumb behind him "We've gotta greenhouse out the back for the herbs 'n' spices. Also a small tea garden beside it. If I 'ave time, I even go for a bit of a hunt up the mountains for wild mushrooms" his voice still remained confident and even.

Hisako nodded. That sounded reasonable. _Damn._

"Here ya go, sweetheart" he smirked at her and handed all the neatly wrapped herbs from her list.

She grumbled her thanks and proceeded to pack her order into her small travel suitcase. She blushed when he leaned one elbow onto the counter and watched her with those glowing green eyes and that smug grin as she went about piling her herb packets together neatly.

"That comes to four-thousand 'n' five-hundred yen" he said.

Hisako took out her wallet and gave him the amount in exact change. She took her receipt and bade him a curt goodbye, feeling her blush was still blooming across her cheeks when his lilting voice stopped her.

"Before ya go, here's a li'l somethin' extra for ya. On the house"

She turned around and she caught a small packet of mixed flowers and herbs in time before it hit her in the face. She looked down and noticed it was some sort of tea blend. She looked up and was about to demand what on earth was that all about but he disappeared around the back again with a casual backward wave.

"See ya later, sweetheart"

* * *

 ** _The Second Visit_**

Here she was again, back to that countryside town. This time she decided to dress in normal, casual clothes. She was wearing a pair of loose comfortable jeans, a light and airy blouse and sun hat to combat the brightness of the spring day. Once again she breathed in the light atmosphere deeply and felt her inner energy circulate nicely. Hisako dragged her suitcase along the dirt road and straight to _Ryuusenka Apothecary._

Hisako found herself thinking about that boy working at the apothecary a lot during the past few weeks. She couldn't get his mesmerising eyes and his rogue smirk out of her mind. It even disturbed her in her sleep! The way he handled the herbs she asked for was very delicate and careful. She could tell that he was very passionate with them. But there was no way that he was from the countryside, he must be a city boy too as his accent was definitely the city-accent. Remembering his dismissive and nonchalant manner of speaking always got her blood riled up and it was worse that she remembered it at random points during the day. It was embarrassing when Erina-sama caught her when she was stuck in a tizzy, muttering curses under her breath to that teenage boy. When Erina-sama asked what was wrong, she covered it up quickly and said it was nothing she should concern herself with. Her noble charge just nodded and asked nothing more.

Speaking of Erina-sama, she had been extremely happy with her for the past few weeks. If Erina-sama was happy, it made her happy. Hisako had used her fresh supply of _Ryuusenka Apothecary_ herbs straight away and it had made a clear difference in the taste of her medicinal cooking. Erina was a lot more enthusiastic and energised for taste testing after having her palate cleansers which she rarely was before Hisako made that visit to the countryside apothecary. It was more fragrant, the flavours were deeper and delicate, and the colour of her food was glistened and was beautiful. Hisako could say she was extremely satisfied with _Ryuusenka Apothecary's_ hand ground herbs and spices.

"Back again, sweetheart?"

' _Grrr!'_

"Why do you always call me 'sweetheart'? I have a name you know. It's _Arato Hisako_. Use it" she finally raised her voice at him.

He smirked.

' _Doesn't he even know how to smile properly?!'_

"What can I get ya?" he tilted his head and gazed at her like he thought she was an amusing rabbit.

"Here's my list" she thrusted it at him.

"Ya learnin' fast" he chuckled.

She huffed at him and spun around to face the other way. Instead, she concentrated on inspecting the rest of the insides of the apothecary. This time it was a bit tidier and she could tell there was some effort to clean the grime of the corners of the front window. There was a stand filled with vintage looking soaps, which she had noticed in the first visit. She stepped towards them and bent down to have a closer look. There were a variety of rose, lavender, patchouli, camomile, rosemary, vanilla and whole bunch more. Most aromatherapy soaps she came across smelled nauseatingly strong, and super artificial because they often went crazy on the essential oils. Also sometimes they didn't do as they promised, but rather dried out the skin from the cheap ingredients they used. Therefore, Hisako didn't really trust aromatherapy soaps. But these ones, she held in her hand smelled delicately fragrant. She could also see bits of the dried herbs and flowers dotting throughout the cake of roughly shaped soap. So at least she knew there were real products in them. It was neatly wrapped in a brown paper label and tied off with twine so it looked cutely vintage. So far she and Erina-sama and herself were very pleased with the quality of _Ryuusenka Apothecary,_ so perhaps she could give their soaps a try too.

She picked the most common type. Lavender soap.

"Have ya tried the butterfly pea, lemon grass 'n' pandan tea I gave ya, last time?"

Hisako darted her eyes at him. She didn't expect him to make conversation this time. She suddenly remembered that packet of tea blend he threw at her last time.

"Uh- yes I have. It's actually really nice" she felt herself blushing again.

She returned back to the counter and watched him weigh her herbs. This time he was wearing a black V-neck shirt and a thin red hooded jacket. He seemed to have a thing for hooded clothing. He was wearing tight black jeans and he had metal chains looping around the left side of his hips which Hisako tried not to stare at. That tea he gave her for free had a light, sweet and refreshing taste. It also packed quite a surprise.

 _The tea turned blue!_

Both she and Erina-sama were fascinated by it! When Erina-sama suggested that she added lemon to it, _it turned purple._ That was when the both of them realised that the blue extract from the tiny dried blue flowers acted the same as litmus paper. It changed colour when reacted with something acidic such as lemon juice. The added lemon flavour gave a greater depth of refreshing flavour. Erina-sama actually liked to add the lemon in herself to watch it change colour. Hisako was happy to see her dear friend find fun in her tea.

"D-Do you grow the butterfly pea flower yourself?" she asked cautiously, ready for any quick sarcastic replies.

"Yep. This is it here" he pointed to a bamboo basket half filled with the flower on the other end of the counter.

Hisako walked over to inspect it. They were vibrant blue flowers. The boy held one up to her and smirked.

"Does it look like anythin' familiar?" he asked.

"Uh…no?" she furrowed her brows in confusion.

He twisted the flower upside down. It took her a few moments to realise…

' _WHAT THE HELL?!_

"That's…! That's…! _That's lewd!_ " She screamed at his face.

He bursted out laughing and doubled over until his hoodie flipped over his snow white tresses. Hisako was absolutely horrified. The flower when twisted upside down looked like the private parts of a women! She shook in absolute humiliation and pure anger. She felt her face burst with a violent blush.

"How dare you give me something like that to drink!" she pointed at him in utter fury.

The ingratiating boy seemed to recover from his sick humour and wiped a stray tear from his eyes, he made little effort to reign in his chortles.

"Relax. It's a flower that's used in Chinese medicine as an aphrodisiac. It's quite common too. Kinda pretty to look at" he said like it was common knowledge and tried to suppress the building chuckle for his last comment.

"W-Well that can't be true! Because I've never heard of it being used in that way in Chinese medicine before, and I'm a Chinese medicine expert too. Even if it is, you shouldn't even be selling it to me!" she stamped her foot at him.

"Really now. Ya sure you're an expert? Or maybe it's just that the Arato family is too conservative to let their young female members learn 'bout ancient Chinese _aphrodisiacs"_ he drawled smugly.

How dare he! Of course she knew about aphrodisiacs! She just never used them in her cooking because she had no use for them. Her cooking was for the sole benefit of helping Erina-sama, making sure it relieves her stress and rejuvenated her to take on the many harsh responsibilities as the heiress of the Nakiri Family!

"Besides, it's just a _belief_ that it's an aphrodisiac. Almost every plant in the world has a story for bein' an aphrodisiac anyway. I don't believe in that sort of bull. Nobody should"

This insolent boy, working in an apothecary didn't believe in the powers of herbs and spices? Well, that's something new. She had had enough. She threw him the cake of aromatherapy soap she had with her to add to her purchase and demanded him to hurry up so she could buy her stock and leave. Who did this commoner think he was, treating her so poorly like this! Was he too stupid to think how important the Arato and Nakiri family was?! Did he want to lose their business for making such thoughtless remarks to her like this?!

Hisako had an idea!

"Where's your manager. I want to speak to them"

She smiled triumphantly.

He finally wiped that stupid grin off his face.

"...He's kinda busy with a few important things at the moment. If you wanna stick 'round for the next forty minutes, he'll be here" said the boy.

Ha! Now he was getting the idea that she was going to make a formal complaint to his manger about his bedside manner. Maybe he'd even get suspended for treating his customer so poorly. Forty minutes was worth the wait, if it would ensure this guy received at least a verbal lashing that will make him think twice for wagging his rude tongue at her. He didn't look bothered in the slightest, but Hisako firmly believed that he was probably freaking out on the inside. Well, he was going to get what was coming. Nobody should underestimate the ferocity of an Arato. An Arato protected their own and the Nakiri Family fearlessly.

"I'm in no hurry. I'll wait" she said defiantly.

"Suit ya-self" he shrugged.

Then he disappeared around the back.

* * *

 ** _Approximately forty minutes later._**

Hisako had finished reading some online _shoujou manga_ from her smartphone while she waited for the manager of _Ryuusenka Apothecary_. She decided to use her time to scope out what other romance _manga_ would be suitable for Erina-sama. She was lucky that her phone network reached this far into the countryside, although the speed was reduced. So far there were a few that seemed light and Hisako was confident her noble charge would like them. The scruff of sneakers on the wooden floor caught her attention and she sat up looking forward to seeing the manager of _Ryuusenka Apothecary_. Instead it was just the dratted snowy haired boy again. He carried a large book and dumped it on the counter. He started flipping through it lazily. He pulled out his phone and started typing things in and writing into the book. His fingers were long and slender, and there were some light brown smudges on the tips as he'd been handling a lot of herbs and hadn't washed his hands yet.

Hisako pursed her lips and checked her watch. It was just past forty minutes now.

No manager in sight.

Hisako got up and went to the counter. The boy didn't even flinch.

She cleared her throat.

"Yeah, sweetheart?"

"Time's up. You said the manager would be here" she crossed her arms around her chest and tapped her foot impatiently.

He smirked at her "Ya lookin' at 'im"

What. Did. He. Just. _SAY?!_

There was no way he could be the manager of this place!

"You're lying. You're not the manager. Get the manager for me. _Right now._ " She hissed through gritted teeth.

"I didn't lie. I did say the manager, which is me, had a few important things to do at the moment. That bein' servin' you, my customer, 'n' I did some bookkeepin' 'round the back. I said he'd be here in forty minutes 'n' well looky here, I'm the only one behind the counter, after said forty minutes" he gestured his hand around him like he was such an important person, also looking like the cat that caught the canary.

Hisako couldn't believe it.

"So, what can I do for ya, sweetheart?"

"For starters, stop call me 'sweetheart'!" yelled Hisako.

He stood up to his full height and raked his fingers through his hair. She watched the way he flared his nostrils as he breathed out and his eyes, half lidded, gave her infuriatingly pleasant chills up her spine as he gazed at her cooly as if he didn't care. Damn him and his roguishly handsome face. He couldn't believe he would always win people over with that crooked smile and his bedroom-eyes, could he?

"I don't like the way you're treating me. You're rude, you play tricks on me and I don't like it" she said.

"Like what? I arrange 'n' package your herbs in front of ya. I didn't scam ya 'n' they're top quality, otherwise ya wouldn't be here for the second time orderin' more. I gave ya one of our special tea blends on the house which ya liked. From my point of view, I'm employee of the month" he smirked again.

"W-Well… Well… _I don't like being called sweetheart!"_ she screamed.

"Ya don't?"

"You're not my grandmother, only my grandmother can call me that. I said my name is Arato Hisako. So please address me accordingly" Hisako stared back at him with as much professionalism as she could muster.

"Point taken, Arato-san. My name's Hitsugaya Daisuke"

He stuck out his hand for her to shake. Was he making amends? She just stared at it in shook, again taken aback that he would do such a thing. She looked up into his eyes again to try to see if he was pulling some other trick. His eyes said there was a fifty percent chance he had something up his sleeve. He was probably stuck on _'arrogant prick'_ setting. He cocked his head to the side _daring_ her to take his hand.

She took his hand and shook it anyway. She wasn't intimidated by him.

His hands were rough and warm.

"See ya later, sweetheart"

"STOP IT!" she slapped his hand away and left the store, trying to block out the melodious laughter from _Ryuusenka Apothecary._

* * *

 ** _The Third Visit_**

Hisako was mentally prepared. For the past several weeks, she had practiced a few smart-aleck quips so that she could beat this Histugaya-so-called-manager-Daisuke at his own game. She needed to show him who was boss. She couldn't let herself be beaten otherwise she could not proudly call herself part of the Arato Family and Erina-sama's trusted aide. Maybe then he would start acting like a professional around her. During her down time when she wasn't attending to Erina, or practicing her hooking she was looking up on the internet different types of wise-cracking phrases, some witty insults that she could use on Hitsugaya.

 _Ding! Ding!_

Hisako lifted her travel suitcase up the step and onto the creaking timbre floor.

Hitsugaya Daisuke was nowhere in sight. Instead, it was a girl sitting at the counter, grinding some dried seeds in a _suribachi_ , the Japanese mortar and pestle. The scent wafting from the bowl told her it was dried coriander seeds.

 _'Is she a part-timer?'_

"Good morning! How can I help you?" she said enthusiastically.

"Uhh…"

The first thing she wanted to say was 'Where's that bastard Hitsugaya?', but she stopped herself. The girl sitting at the counter had beautiful honey-brown eyes. She had a heart shaped face which was slightly tanned and sleek black hair pulled into a messy, spiky bun on top of her head. Her side-fringe framed the right side of her face delicately. The girl looked fresh and awfully pretty. She hopped off her stool and went to the front of the counter. She was dressed in a tank-top and a pair of tight shorts and boots. She also had a beige coloured apron tied around her which Hitsugaya never wore. She stood about the same height as Hisako and she noticed that the muscles in her arms were quite well built, probably from hard work. Hisako forced a nervous smile.

"Hi, I'm just here for these herbs" She handed the girl her new list.

"Alrighty, let me just grab those for you, I will not be long" she placed her bowl of dried coriander and _suribachi_ off to the side and pulled out the electronic scale from underneath the counter.

Hisako rubbed her arms up and down even though it wasn't cold and she craned her neck around to see if there were any signs of that white-haired, emerald eyed boy anywhere. The only noises she heard was this new girl climbing up the ladder for the herbs in the top drawers.

"So are you from Tokyo?"

Hisako spun around, not quite catching what she said.

"Sorry?"

"Are you from Tokyo?"

"Yeah, I am. How could you tell?"

"Just by your accent. We do not get a lot of city folks around these parts"

Hisako nodded. Now that she thought of it, this girl had a different accent herself. She sounded like she came from overseas, but was unsure as to which country. Hisako still needed to know who this manger was because she didn't believe a word Hitsugaya said, so maybe this employee would give her a straight answer.

"So umm, is the manager around?" asked Hisako.

"Daisuke-kun? Oh he is upstairs having a headache. He stayed up at night doing god knows what in his room" She shook her head and chuckled, pointing up at the ceiling.

Hisako's eyes followed the girls fingers direction, and momentarily looked up at the ceiling.

"So it's true? Hitsugaya-san is the manager of this place?" Hisako gasped. She was about to ask if he also lived in the place he worked too, but figured it was a bit intrusive to ask.

"Yep! Surprising right? It is just him and I here. I just help out every now and then. My name is Riza, by the way. Nice to meet you" she smiled brightly at Hisako.

"I'm Arato Hisako. My pleasure" she said distractedly. The rosette-haired Tootsuki student was still in the middle of wrapping her head around Hitsugaya Daisuke being the manager of the Arato Family's new favourite herb and spice supplier.

"But Hitsugaya-san is a teenage-boy. He's like, my age. How is it possible that he runs this place full time?" she asked.

Riza-san continued to weigh and package her herbs according to her list and she gave a little smile. Hisako felt completely at ease around her, which was really nice for a change.

"Well, Daisuke-kun does not go to school. He actually dropped out two years ago when he was fourteen"

"What?" Hisako screwed her eyebrows in confusion.

"He is what you call a _tensai_. A genius. He became bored of school. He never revised his school notes. I do not think he took notes actually… he did not always pay attention in class, he started to skip lessons to pursue other interests. Yet he kept coming up first place in exams. He made a lot of teachers mad for proving them wrong when they made mistakes in their teachings. You see, he was extremely gifted in maths and science like biology, chemistry and physics, but the education system did not allow him to accelerate his classes or take higher education courses to suit his ability levels because of his age restriction. The teachers ended up accusing him of cheating eventually because of his lack of attendance, I think. His retaliation only added fuel to the fire. Then he started getting into a lot of trouble with the teachers and eventually other students. He totally sucked at being humble. Urgh, no matter how smart people get, they never fail to be stupid when it matters most. Am I right? He quickly figured out that he could teach himself things rather than the teachers did. He became a full time truant and started trespassing university campuses to attend their lectures just to alleviate his boredom. The campus security chucked him out after the first few weeks.

Hisako nodded, drinking in the story but not quite believing it.

"Do you know what happens when a genius gets bored, Arato-san?"

"No…"

"They start to _experiment_ and do reckless things. They start to push the limits. Daisuke-kun of course fell into that pattern. Boredom is a _tensai's_ worst enemy. They need something to constantly stimulate their minds otherwise they will end up going crazy" Riza laughed.

"What kind of reckless things did he do…?" Hisako was a bit afraid of what the answer might be, but she was also very curious.

"He had this knack for growing stuff. Well, let us just stay he started finding ways to secretly grow things that have mediocre medicinal value, high recreational value, but also at the same time not very… _legal_ "

' _Oh my god… he couldn't have…'_

"His mum is a well-known professor at Toudai, and his dad works for the government. They instantly stopped his little experimental projects and decided that the safest thing was to pull him out of school, because clearly it was a waste of everyone's time, and bought him an old apothecary out here in this countryside and a patch of already herb filled land for him to manage all by himself. That way, he could exercise his interpersonal and high level problem-solving abilities for necessary life skills and apply that to something useful. When you are running a business, plenty of issues arises and you need to think laterally under pressure. As you know, it is a full time job and takes up a chunk of your mental capacity. His parents challenged him to run and look after his own apothecary business and make reasonably profits until he becomes old enough to apply for a scholarship for university. Every few months or so, his mum comes around to check, and make sure he is not _ahem..._ _growing things he should not…_ Daisuke could never resist a challenge anyway"

So this Hitsugaya Daisuke was actually a _tensai?_ Hisako contemplated what that actually meant. Basically he thought he was too good for school. How incredibly arrogant. Surely the education system could support people who resided in the gifted-and-talented spectrum. Riza-san's double entrendes clearly pointed to the fact that Hitsugaya had taken an interest into marijuana! Who knew what other dangerous, limit-breaking things he had taken interest in before establishing this apothecary. Hisako could only shake her head. Even if this guy really was a genius, Hisako still didn't find him at all pleasant.

"I think it has been beneficial for him. It has kept his brilliant mind from wondering over to dangerous territories. The greenhouse and tea garden is a hundred percent legal, so do not worry! He had finally put his talents in maths and science to good use and developed different methods for drying and preserving herbs and spices to maintain its top quality over long periods of time, he has developed algorithms for productive and effective herb farming according to the seasons and moonrises, he has developed a terrarium system for developing specific types of soil for cultivating herbs and spices that are not native to Japan, and an irrigation system specifically for our tea garden and its healthy ecosystem! I am still trying to get him to spread his ideas, but I guess he has got other priorities" Riza-san finished off rather excitedly.

Hisako was gobsmacked.

"Business is good now since he has been able to connect with different food companies and restaurants to supply his herbs, spices and tea blends. We are in the process of making contracts to various gift shops with our essential oils and handmade soaps too. We have also managed to finalise a contract with _Yamada Bee Farm_ to supply us beeswax, which is exciting. Although he only plans to sell herbal salves privately here" Riza tied up the last of her herb packet, which was star anise.

Histugaya, with some help from Riza-san, was able to achieve that much in two years on their own?

"You know, I could show your how our gizmos work, but not right now because his new-fangled water system is on. Would not want to get drenched right now, am I right?" she chuckled.

"Riza, who're you talkin' to?"

Both girls looked towards the back door as Hitsugaya Daisuke emerged, yawning as he came through the threshold. He was sporting another hooded sweater. His ruffled bed hair and his half-lidded eyes made Hisako blush. _Damn, he was also good looking when he was sleepy!_ He reached into his pocket and pulled out a piece of chocolate and popped it into his mouth.

"Chatting with a customer" said Riza brightly. She took Hisako's money and gave her the receipt. "And is that my chocolate? I've been looking for it all morning!"

"Don't leave ya food unguarded" he replied nonchalantly, completely ignoring Riza-san's outburst.

"Ah good mornin', sweetheart" he finally grinned lazily at her.

Hisako rolled her eyes "It's 'Arato-san' to you"

He shrugged his shoulders.

"Now now, Daisuke-kun, you should not be making our customers feel uncomfortable. Is your headache gone?" Riza lightly scolded her 'boss' whilst shoving her hand into his pocket and pulled out a half full bag of chocolate.

"Go check the _aburagiku_ in the dehydrater for me will ya?" he brushed her aside and made his way to the large book, obviously with all the sales statistics, on the side.

"Sure" Riza smiled at Hisako and waved at her.

Hisako smiled and waved back. Now… that left her with Hitsugaya Daisuke.

"So I heard you dropped out of school" said Hiskao nervously. She didn't mean to sound judging or accusatory, but it still came out that way.

"School wasn't the place for me" he said.

' _Right… because he thinks he's too good for it...'_

"I also heard you came up with all these systems for looking after this apothecary business"

"Yeah I did. Is there a point to this conversation?" He looked up at her, this time he wasn't smiling, or smirking. He just stared deep into her eyes and she shivered. "I know ya don't really like me, why do you keep comin' back?" he asked. He folded his arms on the counter and buried his chin in it. He looked like a little cat suspiciously, eying a laser dot.

She… had no answer. Because his herbs and spices were good? That was the most obvious one, but then again she didn't have to come back _in person_. She could've asked another member of the Arato Family to go in her stead. Other than that she had no answer. It was true, he was brash he was teasing, he irritated her.

But… why did she always come back?

…She quite liked it…

…She quite liked his teasing…

… She liked the way his sharp words kept her on her toes…

… She liked the way his slender fingers handled her dried herbs with such care…

… She liked the way his soft white hair ruffled around when he tilted his head at her…

… She liked the way his glowing green eyes looked into her…

… She liked the way he gave her those crooked smiles…

… She liked it when he called her 'sweetheart' in that soothing voice of his…

 _Nobody in Tootsuki paid her that kind of attention._

Back in Tootsuki, everybody treated her like a school official. They marveled her for her secretarial duties as Erina-sama's aide and they respected her for her cooking. She always walked behind Erina-sama, so people only saw Erina-sama and paid no attention to her unless she spoke. They called her 'Hishoko' because Alice spreaded that nickname far and wide. Her identity became blurred between Erina-sama's secretary and expert in medicinal cooking. She wasn't really treated as a student and because of that… well… she didn't make friends with a lot of students, aside from Erina-sama and maybe one Yukihira Soma too. But that had always been enough for her. She'd been seeing quite a few male students and female students flirting with each other back and forth. Deep down in her heart, she'd always wanted to know what that felt like, but thought it was a preposterous and idiotic idea. _Yet her heart still ached for it._ That high school experience she'd been too busy to have for herself. Guys didn't treat her like that. In fact, they didn't talk to her often because they were often scared off by Erina-sama, or enthralled by her to give notice to Hisako Arato, Nakiri Erina's aide.

Still… she had to come up with the least embarrassing answer.

"W-Well, the Arato family is contracted with you after all… Also, we're really impressed with the q-quality of your p-products. Um… Erina-sama is happy with them too—"

"Who's Erina-sama?" he cut her off quickly. He didn't change his position on the counter.

"… That's the heiress of the prestigious Nakiri Family! Don't you know them?" Hisako asked incredulously.

"Nope"

"They are the leading noble family of the gourmet food world! They've established the Tootsuki Tea Ceremony and Cooking Academy which had become one of the most famous and prestigious culinary academies in the world, who produce only the top chefs in the country. The head of the family is Nakiri Senzaemon-dono who is a famous and well respected figure in the gourmet food world. He earned his fearsome reputation as _'The Demon Food King'_ and is known throughout Japan. His granddaughter and the heiress is Nakiri Erina who's revered for her beauty and ability in the God's Tongue'—"

"Hold it right there. If we're goin' back that far, I'm gonna need some popcorn" he arched his back and stretched.

Hisako spluttered from being interrupted from her very proud account of the noble Nakiri Family. _Nobody had ever interrupted her in this sort of speech before!_ She pressed on anyway, as she didn't know what else to say.

"Nakiri Erina is the _Emperor_ I serve. I take care of her and help manage her responsibilities. In ancient Chinese imperial courts, the emperor had a dietitian who provided him with medicinal cooking. In my case, the _Emperor_ is Erina-sama."

"What responsibilities could this _Emperor_ possibly 'ave?" Hitsugaya quirked his eyebrows, enunciating _Emperor_ with unnecessary stress.

"She has great responsibility to uphold the Nakiri name in the gourmet food world. She attends appointments for taste testing for famous chefs who come to pay her to evaluate their food using her God's Tongue ability" said Hisako.

"Wow… that sounds like a _real_ hardship. I'm glad we still have _very hard workin'_ noble families such as the _Nakiri Family._ Maybe I should take the money I use to sponsor my sponsor-kid in Africa 'n' invest it into Nakiri-approved gourmet food" he drawled.

"Don't you dare make light of Erina-sama and her contributions to our food culture!" Hisako growled at him.

"God's Tongue does ring a bell. It's that ability that lets the user taste things with incredible precision 'n' detect all types of flavour profiles right? I also heard that it also grants the user fifty extra mana points 'n' even increases defense by plus fifty— oh wait… I'm thinkin' of a video game I play…" he continued to be sarcastic.

"Erina-sama's God given talent isn't something you should make a joke of" Hisako crossed her arms and turned away.

When she finally looked back, Hitsugaya's eyes suddenly darkened and murmured something Hisako barely caught, partially muffled by his sleeve.

" _Talent is a funny thing. Ya born with such a great ability 'n' people say they love ya for it when they secretly hate ya for it. Heh… I got into so much trouble for a stupid thing called a 'gift'"_

Hisako furrowed her eyebrows at the hint of spite in his words. What was he talking about?

"Show me a picture of her. I think it might jog my memory better for the Nakiri Family" he gestured at her expectantly at her.

Hisako took out her phone and was more than happy to present him a picture of herself and Erina-sama. Maybe if he remembered he would remember his place also. It was easy to access because it was already a wallpaper. Erina-sama's long her was like spun gold in the light of the photo. Hisako strongly believed that even the models and pop idols of Japan couldn't compare to the beauty, grace and poise of the tenth seater of Tootsuki. They could eat her dust! Erina-sama's violet orbs were magnificent and Hisako always felt honoured when she bestowed her hypnotic and graceful eyes on her. When she praised her… she could melt.

"Revered for her beauty ya say? Tch. I've seen prettier girls" Hitsugaya looked away with a snort, and started busying himself with the _suribachi_ Riza-san neglected. He began grinding the dried coriander seeds while Hisako tried to comprehend what he just said.

"H-How could you say that?" she asked. Hitsugaya never ceased to behave like an abomination!

"For starters, the girl standin' next to her looks _way_ more beautiful"

Hisako blinked up in confusion and stared back down at her phone. The picture was just of herself and Erina.

"But that's—"

"Ya know why I think she's more beautiful? She looks like a really hard workin' girl. She cares for her charge, who clearly looks like somebody who should be able to take care of her own affairs but just chooses not to because she rolls 'round in money, and yet this prettier girl standin' next to her still finds it in her heart to spare her valuable time to her. She's also very loyal, organised, diligent 'n' without fail comes to my apothecary once every few weeks to make sure her stock cupboard is full 'n' ready to use. Why else would she need to, except for traditional medicine 'n' medicinal cookin'. I know she doesn't actually come on behalf of her family, because I've already taken care of their orders which gets picked up even before she arrives, therefore she actually comes for her own stock. This clearly tells me that her heart holds great compassion 'n' devotion for humanity 'n' has great skill 'n' kindness to pursue the art of healin' the body. She's also very strong headed 'n' won't take bullshit from anyone who says a bad word against who she cherishes. Also she's ready to defend their honour at any cost. I think she can be quite stubborn 'n' her pride in her family, 'n' the family she serves adds to her beauty. Ah, not to forget that spitfire in her eyes, which is always a delight to stoke for my amusement"

 _Hisako… was speechless!_

"Ah… I don't like how she's stand' one-step behind the not-so-pretty girl. I don't get to see enough of her. I don't like how she seems to automatically place herself in that girl's shadow _._ I think she might care for the not-so-prettiy girl more than herself which ain't good. She needs to see more value in herself, than what she does for that other girl. The beautiful girl needs to step forward and stop following from behind because she is so much more capable than that. Then everyone can see just how beautiful she really is"

Hisako heavily blushed and couldn't formulate her thoughts properly to have a reply. _He… He thought of her like that?!_ Hisako had never been referred to 'beautiful' or 'pretty' or anything in her whole life. In fact, she never really took notice if her physical appearance was appealing to anyone. Hang on a minute… he never once mentioned her outward appearance… he only talked about… her inner qualities? Or at least, what he perceived were her inner qualities. Hisako looked up to meet his eyes. His gleaming emerald eyes peered right back at her as if he was looking deep into her soul. It was the first time he'd ever looked sincere to her. Could his words ring true at all? It didn't look like he was tricking her and nor did he look like he had an ulterior motive... this time. His words floored her and she still couldn't come up with a coherent thing to say about herself, because the first thing rolling off her lips was to defend Erina-sama.

"Erina-sama's job it to—"

"Ya talk 'bout an _Emperor._ An _Emperor_ is somebody who serves their empire 'n' does everythin' in their power to care for the well bein' of their people 'n' defend them from enemies. Somebody who has chosen the art of medicinal cookin', _the power to heal the sick,_ is better suited to care for those lower than themselves. Bein' an _Emperor_ ain't a _job._ It's an _honour._ Which I don't think that Nakiri girl really knows 'bout. That beautiful girl, standin' behind her knows what it means to take care of others 'n' be selfless. She deserves the title _Emperor_ more than a spoilt socialite does"

Hisako was about to start again, but was cut off by a joyful voice.

"Also I believe, Arato-san, that _this_ pretty girl Daisuke-kun is talking about is very smart and has rare perception. She can see worlds where none can see value in, whatsoever" said Riza as she popped out from around the back door.

Hitsugaya turned around to give his employee a pointed look and clucked his tongue. "And how would ya deduce that?"

Riza smirked back at him "She keeps talking to you, you smarmy git! Therefore, she _must_ be capable of finding at least _one_ good enough reason to!"

"Hmmm. What are ya doing here, Riza?"

"Finished my duties for the day, so I am going to have lunch. Bye and see you later, Arato-san" she took off her apron and threw it on the nearest peg before exiting the premise without a moment to lose, leaving a quick backward wave.

He said, she was more deserving of the title of _Emperor,_ more than Erina-sama deserved? It's true that the Emperor holds great responsibility in taking care of his empire. But Hitsugaya was implying that she was better at performing that job than Erina-sama did. How blasphemous! Erina's divine tongue meant she had a responsibility to use it to it's full ability, a burden she had to bare since young to revolutionise the gourmet food world. Hisako's role was to look after her and be selfless for the needs of Erina-sama and she was the only one up to the task. So how dare he insinuate that her devotion and care to Erina-sama was unneeded and better spent on somebody else! And how could he make such a personal attack on Erina-sama like that?! Saying she wasn't beautiful. Was he blind? He didn't know anything about her! He didn't know Erina-sama like she did. If he'd spent even ONE day with her, THEN he would understand the _gift_ she possessed and how hard she worked to—

* * *

"... _You see, he was **extremely gifted** in maths and science like biology, chemistry and physics...'_

* * *

Out of nowhere, Riza-san's words rang in her mind. He was _extremely gifted_ in maths and science, she'd said. Why did she think of that just now? What did that have to do with her thoughts on Erina-sama?

* * *

 _"...He made a lot of teachers mad... they accused him of cheating..."  
_

* * *

Hitsugaya… got in trouble for being a _genius_ in maths and science…?

* * *

 _"...the safest thing was to pull him out of school..."_

* * *

He had to be ripped out of school by his parents because his teachers couldn't function on his level. He lashed out. Instead of trying to understand him, and help him harness his intellect, they decided to scorn him and let his potential rot and waste... He was deprived of the education he deserved.

* * *

 _"Talent is a funny thing. You're born with such a great ability and people love you for it when they secretly hate you for it. Heh… I got into so much trouble for a stupid thing called a **'gift''** '_

* * *

Next it was his words, just spoken a few moments ago. He called his gift 'stupid'. It rattled around in her head. Hisako didn't know how to feel about that. This handsome boy, who's manners were so deplorable, who wouldn't think twice about character assassination, and gazing back at her, _loathed_ his gift.

Erina-sama's talents on the other hand… were in _tasting food_. And she absolutely loved it. And yet… and yet what? Her thoughts were entering traitorous grounds. Against her will, she was beginning to see how _his gift_ was beginning to outshine Erina-sama's gift. Her gift started to look like a novelty compared to his. No way! There was no way she would see Erina's God's Tongue as something insignificant and unimportant compared to Hitsugaya's talents! Hitsugaya's farming algorithms, scientific methods for plant preservation, soil terrarium system and new irrigation system, all born from his talent for maths and science could potentially make such significant contributions and advancements to society, yes she got that. But Surely Erina-sama's contribution to society…!

' _Ah! I don't know what to think!'_

In the last half hour in _Ryuusenka Apothecary,_ Hisako had been shooting her mouth off singing praises about the Nakiri Family and about how majestic and wonderful they were, while on the other side of the back door of the apothecary… were all these revolutionary farming techniques, unknown to the rest of the world…

…All designed and created by this teenage, high school drop-out.

 _'He doesn't believe anyone else in the world would understand it_ _… THAT'S why he doesn't share it_ _…'_

All her life, she'd been holding a candle to Erina unquestioningly. And despite all of Hitsugaya Daisuke's rough exterior, snarky and rude attitude, he was able to see the beauty in her where nobody else could see. He saw Arato Hisako where nobody else did. Somebody as smart and intellectual as him could see through to a second-string, an understudy, like her. Hisako suddenly her face flame up and felt her perspectives shifting, but was frightened for what it would turn into. She felt… it was changing into something _good._

He made her heart beat fast.

"Let's start over. Hi, my name is Hitsugaya Daisuke and I'm the manager of _Ryuusenka Apothecary._ Nice to meet ya"

He stuck out his hand. His herb stained hands.

Hisako looked at it.

What did that mean… 'starting over'? Did it mean… he was asking her to understand him?

She guessed she wouldn't know until she found out. She took his hand bravely.

"… Hi, my name is Arato Hisako. I'm studying at Tootsuki Culinary Academy. Nice to meet you too…"

It felt warm.

His smile was warm

She felt warm too.

* * *

 **And the oneshot ends here. Phew!**

 **Aw Hisako, nice of you to meet a guy :) It sounds like a beginning of something pleasantly troublesome for her. I'm not sure if I've got Hisako's character down pat, but that's as close as I could come. I don't know her too well, but I guess, that leaves more room to the imagination.** **I hope Daisuke's characterisation in this story was too your liking too! With the other OC Riza, well I hope she sounds alright too.**

 **My research for Japanese/Chinese styled apothecaries was extremely limited, so I had to take a few leniency and cut a few corners to fill in the blanks. So apologies to the experts on Chinese herbal medicine and Oriental Apothecary owners out there!**

 **I don't know what other oneshot ideas will start invading my thoughts, while I'm constantly checking through a 'Touch of Saffron', but I guess it comes when it comes, like through other mundane house chores I guess.**

 **Until next time, let me know what you think, I'd love to here your thoughts :)**

 **Signing-off**

 **-TripWire-dono**


	2. Conium Maculatum

**WHOOOOOOO!**

 **This chapter is directly tied to Chapter 35 'From One Dragon's Jaw to Another' of A Touch of Saffron, my current SnS multi-chapter fanfic. If you've just come from there, you're in the right place because now our favourite apothecary owner is involved.**

 **If you haven't read A Touch of Saffron, that's okay! I've done my best to make this chapter is as transparent as I possible and have summarised the relevant points (in a story telling way) from A Touch of Saffron. Hopefully, this will be a smooth ride for everyone. Although just to be on the safe side, I'd highly recommend you everyone have a go to reading A Touch of Saffron. (pretty please).**

 **Otherwise, you can still enjoy Daisuke's and Hisako's antics :D**

* * *

 _Chapter 2 -_ _Conium Maculatum_

* * *

 _ **Day One**_

 _Vvvvvvv! Vvvvvvvv! Vvvvvvvv! Vvvvvvvv! Vvvvvvvv!_

"Hmm?" Honey-golden eyes perked up at the noise.

It wasn't unusual for Daisuke-kun to accumulate voice messages given his tendency to ignore or purposely miss phone calls. It brought on the question of why did he bothered having the latest phone on the market at all. This was most especially if those missed calls were from his parents who were diligent despite their busy working life to take the time to check up on their wayward son almost every day. Funny… she thought Daisuke-kun's mum already called yesterday. So who was it?

 _'Damn... Just when I'm ready for bed too'_

Riza Heiderich got up from her bedroom floor and followed the low humming from across the hall, the old timber creaking beneath her footsteps. This afternoon Daisuke-kun said he wasn't going to sleep tonight and skulked off, but he'd left his phone behind. Typical. Riza sighed. That meant he was currently doing an all-nighter in his 'lab'.

Riza pushed open his bedroom door and immediately zeroed onto the flashing smartphone sitting on top of his mum's university research paper at his bedside table. The caller ID was Arato Hisako. What a surprise! As soon as Riza reached for the phone, it immediately diverted to voice mail. The the screen flashed other missed calls. Wow... three of those voice messages were from Arato-san, the medicinal cooking expert from Tootsuki Culinary Academy. The same sweet girl who came every month to restock her Chinese herbal medicine supplies. Riza clearly remembered Daisuke-kun only had _three_ contacts on his phone: her, his mum and his dad. When had he given Arato Hisako his phone number? _How interesting..._ No matter, she had just finished her nightly sit-ups, which was a great stress reliever for the day's end, and that meant all hassles could be left 'till morning! Riza really liked Arato-san because she was the only other person who could stand up against Daisuke's arseholery, so she decided she wouldn't keep her waiting.

She jogged downstairs.

It must have been urgent for the pink-haired Tootsuki student to be calling Daisuke-kun of all people in the middle of the night. She made sure to drop by her bedroom and grabbed her jacket hanging over the end of her bed. Soon Riza was out in the cold night air with her pyjamas and gardening boots on, wading through the tea garden looking for her anti-social employer.

She found his 'lab' at the other end of the huge garden.

It was a shed.

But he insisted it was a lab.

He could call it what he wanted. A shed was a shed.

It was a large corrugated iron structure equipped with all the stuff a botanist needed. He had a microscope, a supply of petri-dishes, a mini fridge, a centrifuge, a hygrometer, his custom made soil testing kit, test-tubes and test tube rack, beakers and flasks, measuring cylinders, tray with his neatly lined scalpel and needles, a distiller in the corner and two bunsen-burners. He also had a tray of hypotonic seedlings he was still analysing so see if they were holding up before moving it to the greenhouse. He had the periodic table and his poster-sized floristic keys pinned through the corrugated iron walls. Daisuke-kun had his laptop out and connected to the hard-working automated analyser, still in the process of analysing something going by the wiggling line creeping up and down on the digital graph.

He had chemical and biological formulas written on old parchment paper they found in the apothecary basement a few years back and they were pinned above his workstation, overlapping each other. He had an assortment of different acids and alkalis, powders, solvents and chemicals stored neatly on shelves away from everything else. On the other side of his lab was his soil terrarium system. In her opinion _that_ was a work of genius too. She found botany and biology fascinating. Daisuke-kun was creating custom-made soils, chock-full of nutrients and healthy bacteria specifically for each exotic herbs and spices that were impossible to grow in Japan. That's what he started with, but then it eventually branched off into creating nursery soils to maximize future harvest for seedlings in their first stages of development, and soils to help heal plants infected by fungi or blight. His understanding of chemistry and microbiology was astounding. She dreamed of the day when he would leave the cage he built around himself. It wasn't like he hoarded his scientific achievements or anything… he just... thought nobody could even understand the biological and chemical complexity of his experiements, so he never attempted to reach out. Maybe it was true that he could be the most gifted chemist or botanist in the world at the tender age of sixteen years, but he wouldn't know that for sure unless he put himself out there.

Anyhow, it was still a shed to her.

 _Knock Knock Knock_

" _What is it?"_

Riza stepped into his lab, glad to be out of the cold and was greeted by the strong smell of dirt and chemicals. Daisuke-kun was sitting in his wheelie chair holding up a piece of litmus paper. In front of him were several beakers with coloured liquids each with its own strip of litmus paper possessing different hues. It was bright in here. He had fitted it with new LED light bulbs last month. He had also taken off the arm rests for his wheelie chair, claiming that it inhibited his movements whenever he was moving from one side of the desk to the other.

It was a surprisingly organised lab space, at least surprising for most people because they only saw him as a teenage high school dropout. However, Riza knew Daisuke-kun well enough. He was an OCD monster in his lab. He knew if something in there was off by even a millimeter and god help the poor soul who dared move his clipboard a smidge to the right. It took him months to build enough trust (and confidence that she wasn't as daft as he'd thought) to let her assist him in his lab, as long as she kept everything neat and tidy and didn't ask stupid questions. He kept everything in the lab the way it was for a reason and Riza never questioned it.

 _Danke Gott_ the shed had windows. A lab in a shed was shady enough as it was. She couldn't even begin to think what would become of this prodigy if he had to work on his experimental research into herb and spice cultivation under purely artificial light all the time. That wasn't healthy for anyone.

"You have got three missed calls from Arato-san" said Riza, holding up his phone which was still flashing. She looked over his shoulders curiously.

"Hmmm… At this time of night? Wonder what she wants"

He held a proferred hand out to her expectantly, but keeping his eyes on the litmus paper. She passed it to him. He then pulled off the eyepiece hanging on the lanyard on around his neck and threw it on top of his notes. His eyes lit up with suspicion and at the same time apprehension because it was really one o'clock in the morning and they both wondered why on Earth Arato-san was leaving him so many voice messages this time of night. As soon as Daisuke-kun opened his phone it started vibrating again!

He furrowed his brows and clucked his tongue. He accepted the call and pressed it to his ears.

 _"Ah! Hello? I'm sorry to w-wake you up, but this is an emergency! I've left a few voice m-messages but I really couldn't afford to w-wait for you to get back to me!"_

Her boss had to hold the phone away from his ears and winced from the shrill voice of Arato-san on the other side. Riza could hear everything loud and clear in his quiet lab. _What was the emergency?!_ Worry ate at her and she was dying to know what was wrong and how they could help. She pulled out her own wheelie chair that was tucked against the other bench and sat down, her arms wrapped tightly against her. Squealing tires and roaring engines were mish-mashed with the screaming on the other side and Riza catapulted out of her chair onto her feet, panic all over her.

 _"_ What's happening? Is she alright?!"

Daisuke-kun held his hand up to silence her.

"Hello to ya too" he spoke into the phone "Luckily I wasn't plannin' on sleepin' tonight. What's up?" he said boredly. He didn't seem to be taking this seriously.

" _I really need a favour…"_

"What can I do for ya, sweetheart?"

" _HISAKO! WHO ON EARTH IS CALLING YOU_ ** _SWEETHEART?!"_**

Another voice joined in. Riza leaned forward even more in confusion. Daisuke-kun chuckled out of nowhere, finding this very amusing whilst Riza's heart was hammering in her chest.

" _Hitsugaya-kun! Erina-sama needs a place to hide. I didn't know who else to rely on! Everything has just gone so… Ahh! We've got to get her as far away as possible from Tootsuki. Could you help us?!"_

"Nakiri Erina?" gasped Riza. Daisuke-kun shot her a look that said 'be quiet'.

"You... picked _my_ apothecary" he said.

 _"Yes!"_

"Are ya sure it's the safest choice?" he asked.

" _Yes!"_

Riza's leg bounced up and down. They were going to shelter some runaways? He didn't ask Arato-san to elaborate. He didn't even argue back his incredible dislike for the noble families of Japan or even make a derogatory remark about Arato-san's friend, Erina-san, using his cruel and dry humour. He seemed to found her answer suffice enough.

"How many of ya are there?"

" _U-Ummm… four of us"_

"Alright, sweetheart"

With that. he hung up.

Riza released a breath she didn't know she was holding. "What is going on?" she asked.

"If ya followed the media, you'd have known that Tootsuki has a new director now 'n' that the old one's booted off. It's some guy who used to be part of the family or some shit like that 'n' now he's taken over. The Nakiri family's torn up 'n' it's just a mess over there" he said.

"So, that conversation just now... was in relation to that?" asked Riza. How did Daisuke-kun make that leap about 'running away to _Ryuusenka Apothecary'_ to 'Tokyo's Breaking News' just like that?

"Yeah. Do try 'n' keep up" he rolled his eyes at her.

Riza ignored him and placed her chin in her hands. The Nakiri Family was very well known across Japan. It was a household name and everybody far and wide knew about the famous Tootsuki Culinary academy. They were like the celebrity family of the gourmet food world. They had avid followers or netizens who were keen to know about the family and what they were up to. And then there were people like Daisuke who were very career oriented and didn't pay attention to social media gossip at all. So it was pretty weird that all of a sudden he knew about their latest scandal. Had he been keeping in touch with Arato-san out of business hours?

"You do not follow the news at all, so how would _you_ know?" Riza quirked an eyebrow at him.

"My mum won't shuddup 'bout it. 'pparently Nakiri Erina's the New Director's daughter. Rather than askin' how I've been, she dived right into her diatribe, probably 'cause my dad was already sick of hearin' it"

"I did not peg your mother to be so opinionated about somebody else's family drama" commented Riza. It was unusual for Daisuke-kun's mum to be focused on something other than her work at _Toudai._

"She was invited to do some-sorta taste-testin' judgin' thing there when that guy gate-crashed the place. She wasn't impressed. Pass me the magnesium chlorate."

"Hmmm… I can see how that could get stuck in someone's craw. Your mother can be so..."

 _"Belligerent"_ he finished for her.

Riza passed him the plastic bottle that was just out of his reach with the large label that said 'Mg(ClO)2'. Daisuke-kun took a half a teaspoon of that stuff and sprinkled it into a little bowl sitting on a digital scale. Once he got the exact measurement he wanted, he dumped it into one of the beakers. The liquid bubbled slightly before settling down and he gave it a good stir with the stainless steel spoon. He took out the existing litmus paper and replaced it with a new one. Daisuke-kun got off his chair and stretched his back out, letting out a series of pops and cracks before swinging his arms down. Riza caught a glimpse of something white sticking out from underneath the sleeves.

' _EH?! No way!'_

Riza launched out of her chair and snatched at Daisuke-kun's right arms. He yelped as she twisted it towards her, causing him to lurch forward. She was physically stronger than her shorter employer because of her regular exercises, so she didn't have a problem subduing him. Before he could reach over and stick his thumb into her eye, she grabbed the sleeve of his hoodie and roughly pushed it to reveal a white square sticking to his forearm.

 _"Unhand me, Heiderich!"_

 _"Jesus Christus,_ Daisuke-kun! No wonder why you did not want to sleep tonight. When did _this_ start? And how many?"

Steam was blowing out of her ears as she glared at the white patch sticking to his forearm like an incredibly offending object.

"I dunno, is _'piss off'_ a number?" he bit back sarcastically. He yanked his arm back and rolled down his sleeves, nursing it close to his body while Riza just threw her arms up in the air in exasperation.

"You have successfully weaned off of nicotine patches _ages_ ago. Why are you on them again?!"

"Helps me think" he said dryly.

 _"Urgh_ …Daisuke-kun, you have the thinking power of _ten_ people. _You do NOT need those patches. ESPECIALLY THE TWENTY-FOUR HOUR ONES!"_

Riza rubbed her forehead with both hands. She was constantly worrying over him, to the point it was like a program running in the back at her mind constantly, never shutting off, even while she worked in the apothecary. He wouldn't be back on the nicotine patches unless he slipped up at some point. Who in this town would be selling cigarettes to an under-aged boy?! Riza had been very careful to not let that happen, so she was frightened that he'd somehow relapsed back into his old dangerous ways. After his parents had put a stop to his marijuana habits, he'd switched to smoking to keep his brain 'active', claiming that it was better than dabbling with heroine. He thought it was a funny inference, but his parents didn't find that funny in the slightest. Then wham, he was on a 'quit smoking program' whilst his parents stuck him with the challenge to run a community friendly apothecary to occupy his heightened mental faculties, since he had a… knack for growing stuff. He liked a good challenge so his bored mind was alleviated and he started funding his own independent research, putting his advanced chemistry and biology knowledge to good use, and _Voila!_ He was off the nicotine patches too.

Now… he was back onto it…

He had keeping himself busy all the time with serving customers, tending and harvesting his herb, spice and tea crop, drying and grinding them, researching away, doing business with different places without an ounce of complaint. Riza knew what a 'bored' Hitsugaya Daisuke looked like, and she hadn't seen it for ongoing two years. That was how she knew he was safe from his risk-taking behaviour. He genuinely enjoyed managing his own apothecary. So was she missing something?

 _'He's comes up with such insane logic_ … _urgh_ … _slapping on nicotine patches on like popping tic-tacs, just to keep his brain running full speed_ … _You can't have a prodigy without some touch of madness, I guess...'_

"Let's go. Sounds like they're on their way"

Riza nodded.

"They can use the double bed down the hall 'n' the sleepin' bags" said Daisuke-kun.

The two companions went back inside the apothecary. Daisuke-kun's parents visited and stayed the night every few months, so he'd left a spare room with a double bed there specifically for them. Two people could fit in that bed comfortably. Also, sometimes she and Daisuke-kun went out looking for wild mushrooms together in the mountain-side. Riza had always liked camping as she used to do that with her own family a lot back in _Deutschland_ , so she insisted that they slept out under the stars when they could on those mushroom-hunting escapades. Daisuke-kun didn't mind that idea and for that, they bought sleeping bags and a tent. She hoped that their sleeping bags would be comfortable enough on wooden floors. She had no idea since she only used them on grass. Otherwise they might just have to make it so with four people in a double bed, or share a single with her. There was no way Daisuke-kun was sharing his room with anyone.

 _'Except maybe with Arato-san'_

Why was Daisuke-kun being so generous? Agreeing to harbour Arato-san and few of her friends in the middle of a crisis that will more than likely inconvenience him.

Riza chuckled.

"What?" he turned around and gave her an odd look

"You've gone all soft for Arato-san, Daisuke-kun"

"Good client-supplier rapport is key for long-term success in a business venture" he spun on his heels and made his way to the kitchens.

"Sure, keep telling yourself that"

* * *

"Finally~ Is this the place?" asked Alice-sama.

Hisako peered out the window into the darkness. Familiar houses surrounded them as Kuchiyose-san slowed down, driving carefully and quietly to not wake the inhabitants of the rural town. She squinted her eyes to make sure this was the right place. It was so hard to see. She only knew the direction via the train-line, she wasn't so sure by road, but Alice-sama's GPS on her phone should be right on the mark. She spotted a large divet on the side of the street, marking the alleyway that lead to their ultimate destination.

"Yep, we're here. Erina-sama, please wake up" Hisako gently stirred the sleeping girl beside her.

Erina-sama opened her eyes slowly and her lashes fluttered a few times as she began to emerge from her slumber, and rubbed them. After such a crazy car ride here, Erina-sama had dropped into a deep sleep from expending so much energy panicking about being on a run-away trip far out to the countryside. Not to mention that being in a car with Kuchiyose-san at the wheel was _exhausting_. Their driver slowed to a complete stop right outside the one place she believed would be safe for her charge.

 ** _Ryuusenka Apothecary._**

Seeing that worn sign with its gold script above the door brought such relief to her. She could swear the winds were changing from the ill-fate they were about to endure at Tootsuki. She helped Erina-sama out as Kuchiyose-san gathered the two suit-cases and her travel bag out of the boot.

" _Looks like ya guys 'ave seen better days"_ came a silky voice.

Hisako gasped and looked up. The insides of the apothecary was suddenly bathed in light, casting everybody out the front in a comforting, yellow. A figure leaned casually against the doorway, silhouetted by the inside lights.

It was the insufferable genius who agreed to help them.

"The name's Hitsugaya Daisuke. Welcome to _Ryuusenka Apothecary_. While my employee, Riza Heiderich is gettin' ya rooms set up, I suggest ya step on it 'n' get in before y'all catch a cold" he drawled in the familiar rural accent.

Erina-sama, Alice-sama and Kurokiba-kun watched him apprehensively while Hisako smiled wearily.

His emerald eyes glittered under the shadow of the hood pulled over his spiky snow-white hair. His lips were curved into an amused smirked as he scanned each of them. Hisako had never felt to glad to see him in all her life. The confidence he exuded brought a sense that everything was going to be alright as long as he was helping them. From her time with him whenever she came to buy her stock, he always seemed to possess some sort of maturity or wisdom that was beyond his years but it was always covered by a veneer of sarcasm and scathing wit. Life as a high-functioning teenager had been tough on him in more ways than one, that she knew from Riza-san's stories. Unfortunately, she never saw that 'sageness' for herself as he was always being a cheeky teasing arsehole when he was with her. She trusted him and that was enough for her to call him. She felt excitement bubbling within her and her breath hitched when his beautiful eyes finally landed on hers. It shone under the shadows even more as it penetrated her own eyes.

"I'm Nakiri Alice and this is Kurokiba Ryou, my aide" said Alice-sama introduced herself, smiling brightly as Kurokiba-kun took the luggage from Kuchiyose-san. Her aide just simply nodded and Hitsugaya-kun nodded back.

Erina-sama stepped forward "I am—"

"Nakiri Erina. I know ya" he deadpanned. "I thought ya said there were four of ya" he narrowed his eyes at them, clearly addressing Hisako even though he wasn't directly looking at her.

"Kuchiyose-san was just driving us here. He'll be going back" said Hisako tiredly.

Alice-sama turned around and gave their driver, Kuchiyose-kun a side hug. Hisako was one of the last people to find out that Alice-sama had a boyfriend by the name of Kuchiyose Byakko, who she had broken up with a long time ago and was suddenly back together again. He was incredibly tall and was a soccer-player for his school, Karakura High. He had lilac-coloured hair which was pulled into a half ponytail and it made him look a bit older than he really was. The rosette haired girl was still in the dark about the details of their torrid romance and was very curious about this whole 'Upper class – Working class' relationship thing they supposedly had. But she didn't want to pry... When Hisako had come to Alice-sama in the middle of the night with a plan up her sleeve to get Erina-sama away from Azami-dono, she didn't expect her to know someone from outside Tootsuki who could transport them to anywhere they wanted! Of course, Alice-sama had to tell her that Kuchiyose-san didn't actually have a license, but he was the best choice to drive them anywhere undetected from Azami-dono's influences and Hisako was willing to let that piece of knowledge slide. Whilst Kurokiba-kun ushered Erina-sama and all their luggage through the door of the apothecary, Hitsugaya-kun approached the car.

"Nice wheels" he commented.

Kuchiyose-san just looked at him blankly. He removed his arm from around the Danish Nakiri and tucked his hand into his pockets.

"Do ya parents know ya took their car out for a joy-ride?" asked Hitsugaya-kun.

Hisako wanted to slap her hand over her forehead. What did she expect?! This was not the time!

" _Do your parents know you smoke?"_

Hitsugaya-kun was instantly taken aback as his eyes flew open. What? Hisako was more surprised and utterly confused. She knew Hitsugaya-kun used to grow marijuana in the past, but all that was over and she didn't smell any cigarette smokes coming from him at all. Why would Kuchiyose-san say such a thing? It was so random. Suddenly, the apothecary owner tugged the sleeve on his right arm further down until he balled the cuffs into his fists, shooting the taller teen with an apprehensive glare.

"Now, now, Byakko. You shouldn't make assumptions on the person who's helping us. You didn't mean that right?" Alice-sama giggled with her hand covering her mouth. It didn't take a genius to see she wasn't apologetic at all.

Kuchiyose-san just shrugged.

Hisako found Hitsugaya-kun's absence of a defense for his character unsettling.

"Hmm… make sure ya outta town before sunrise. We get up really early 'round here" said Hitsugaya-kun as he turned away from Kuchiyose-san, still grinning beneath his hoodie and started walking towards her. Hisako uncovered her forehead and looked up at him.

"Ya hungry, sweetheart?" he asked.

Hisako started blushing once he was directly speaking to her, but tried to cover it up by trying to look miffed at him… anything to hide the fact that she turned into a puddle at those words… She hadn't entirely stopped fighting him for calling her _'sweetheart'._ She'd let it slide sometimes, _not all the time!_ but it wasn't grating on her as much anymore. It was clear that he was never going to stop as it was just his personality. Over time she ended up… enjoying being called that term of endearment and not long after, she realised that she liked him more than she actually thought despite his rough exterior. He probably didn't mean to use it in an affectionate way. She didn't know if he called other girls _'sweetheart'_ too . Suddenly a strange unbidden feeling something akin to irritation filled her briefly at the thought. She shoved the irritation away and reasoned the only reason for this rise in displeasure was because Hitsugaya-kun was a closet idiot and so were the village girls were annoying. So she imagined he didn't, and that he only reserved _'sweetheart'_ for her.

"Yeah, a bit. I'm sorry for all this hassle…" she said.

"Don't worry 'bout it. We've got leftover curry. Hope ya like cabbage in it. Riza does" he grinned at her with those cheeky lips and walked away, expecting her to follow.

Hisako was genuinely happy to be here. Alice-sama bade her (boy)friend a goodbye kiss which Hisako was glad she turned away just in time for before the sound of a rumbling engine took off in the middle of the night. She watched the tail lights disappear into the darkness, leaving a trail of flowing red. The two girls walked into _Ryuusenka Apothecary_ together and once they were inside, the old musky aromas of herbs and spices filled her and she breathed in deeply. Yes she was _so_ glad to be here.

"Wow, this place is pretty… Hmmmm, needs more decor?" commented Alice-sama, stroking her chin.

She was still her usual cheery and bouncy self and the crisis they were in was far from her mind as she assessed the interior design of the apothecary. Obviously being a runaway was agreeing with her. At least Hisako had her priorities straight.

"Does Kuchiyose-san know the way back?" she asked. Hisako was honestly very grateful that he'd agreed to transport them here.

"Yep. The way here was pretty straightforward. He'll be fine" she said quietly.

The two girls followed the noises of clinking glasses and plates towards the back door of the apothecary. Hisako had never seen past the back door behind the counter before. She just assumed it was a storeroom or something, but it turned out it lead to a small dining area and a kitchen. Erina-sama was sitting at the table with a cup of tea and a bowl of that left over curry Hitsugaya-kun mentioned, and some rice for her. True to his descriptions, there were bits of cabbage in the curry too. It smelt really warm and nice. She smiled when she saw Riza-san, the other worker in the apothecary.

"Come sit, come sit. You girls must be famished. We have some curry from yesterday for you guys to eat" Riza-san excitedly jogged over and gave the both of them a hug.

Riza-san always hugged her whenever they saw each other. Riza-san was such a loving person. She was the only other who chastised Hitsugaya-kun and got away with it. It had been a while since she'd seen her, she was starting to see some blonde regrowth on her scalp as she had dyed her hair completely black sometime ago. Hisako felt like jelly and finally her exhaustion kicked in and she found a place beside Erina-sama before she stumbled over her feet.

"Thanks" said Hisako

A bowl of piping hot curry and rice was placed before her. She instantly salivated and her stomach grumbled. Alice-sama immediately dived in after a polite _itadakimasu_ and Kurokiba-kun was just chewing and chewing and chewing. Whilst everybody quietly ate their curry, Riza-san was constantly asking if they want more. Hitsugaya-kun was hovering by the door, watching them all.

"So what's the deal 'bout runnin' away?" he finally asked.

"Long story short" started off Alice-sama. she cleared her throat against her fist "Erina's abusive dad came back after being disowned for sixteen years of mentally scaring Erina to take over our school. Erina has this ability called the 'God's Tongue' which lets her taste everything with pin-point accuracy and her dad wants to continue to exploit that for his own selfish gains. So he's planning to tear the foundations of our school and build a gourmet food empire only accessible to the wealthy and wants everything to be created to his own sense of taste, using her tongue. He needs mindless drones, preferably talented, but vulnerable students he could brainwash. He's going to try and expel everybody else who has creativity, originality, basically students that have their own mind, from school and only keeping the students who swear fealty to him in creating his empire" finished Alice-sama.

"Sounds fun" he said sarcastically.

Hisako cleared her throat, a bit annoyed that he was making light of their situation. "Erina-sama is susceptible to fall to his mind tricks again. You see, he had brainwashed her to believe only in him since young, to the point that she could bend to his control whenever she's with him"

"Is that true Nakiri?" Hitsugaya-kun jerked his head towards Erina-sama, who jolted in her seat. She looked this way and that way, but she couldn't escape the penetrating stare of Hitsugaya-kun.

"Y-Yes… it's all true" she said quietly, her hands folded stiffly in her lap.

"How is runnin' away supposed to help? He'll call the police to find his missin' daughter, right?" he asked.

"We have a contingency plan. At this moment, we have friends in Tootsuki who're pretending to house Erina-sama in their dormitory so her father won't know where she really is" said Hisako.

"Willin' to throw ya friends under the bus as a decoy for her bein' here?"

 _"Daisuke-kun"_ Riza-san growled in warning from the sink.

"Th-They agreed even though they knew the risk, they would do this for us… to buy time…" Hisako gripped her cup.

Yukihira-kun, Tadokoro-san, Isshiki-senpai, and the others in Polar Star Dormitory wanted to save Erina-sama too. Yukihira-kun assured her that it won't be a problem for them at all and that they could handle themselves. She believed in Yukihira-kun. He and his friends were stronger than anyone could imagine.

"I've heard many infamous stories about ya, Nakiri"

Hitsugaya-kun turned his attention back to Erina-sama. She sat stiffly with her back straight, trying not to let the apothecary owner intimidate her.

 _"For a person like you, you are very fortunate to still have friends who care"_

With that, he left the room.

"Well, isn't he Mother Theresa" murmured Alice-sama. Kurokiba-kun just shrugged his shoulders as he ate his curry. "Is he _really_ the manager and owner of this place?" she turned around and quizzed Riza-san curiously, clearly expecting Hitsugaya-san to be an old balding man with a cane rather than a bad-boy looking teen. Erina-sama perked her ears up and looked over to their other host.

"He does not look it, huh? But yep he is! And he is my boss" Riza-san chuckled.

"He's so young though…" commented Alice-sama licking her spoon daintily.

"His parents bought him this old apothecary to manage himself about two years ago. He's been doing well"

"Doesn't he go to school?"

"He dropped out of high school two years ago. The teachers were finding him too much of a handful"

"He was a delinquent?" said Erina-sama, looking more interested with a tiny hint of shock.

"Heaven's no! Well when I say 'no', I mean, 'not quite'… his parents un-enrolled him because school was not doing him any good. It is not what you think! Quite the opposite. He was _correcting the teachers_ too many times. Teachers do not like when students publicly kick their arses in their subjects because it is humiliating and embarrassing in front of other students. Especially if those subjects were in maths, chemistry, physics and biology"

"Wait a second. You're saying he was _smarter_ than the teachers?!"

"By leaps and bounds"

"Sure he sounds like a jerk for showing-up the teachers all the time and stuff, but still! How can they kick him out of school just because he was really smart? It doesn't make sense" Alice-sama laced her fingers together and propped her chin on them as she tilted her head to the side.

"The teachers grew resentful of him and tried to suppress and punish him any chance they got. He is able to just… _grasp_ …complicated theories, visualise abstract concepts with ease and solve really tough physics and maths problem that even the teachers would not begin to comprehend or attempt in a hundred years. His mind was so _far above_ any of them, they could not understand how he deduced or solved problems, what he was going through, how he processed things, and what he was going to do next. They accused him of cheating in exams because he had such high scores despite not paying attention or turning up to class. He was very misunderstood and just acted out. I think that made him all snarky, crabby, snappish and stuff. He was so gifted in maths and science, but none of the teachers acknowledged him for that. They scorned him… Imagine what that does to a person? To be punished for being smart… He just got bored with school because he was not learning anything new at all and became a truant.

"The teachers ought to be the ones getting sacked if they aren't competent in their subjects to begin with, right Ryou-kun?"

 _"Ousu"_

Riza-san merely shrugged her shoulders. "Well, high school teachers only teach what is needed for high school level. Nothing more. Obviously Daisuke-kun was far beyond high school level. Teachers just do a bachelor degree and tack on an teaching degree at the end so that they get qualified to teach"

Alice-san nodded. The crickets were still chirping outside and the glow of the kitchen lights still made it feel like daytime. It was early morning now and nobody was feeling the least bit sleepy. Tired, yes, but not sleepy. They've all stayed up so late to the point that they didn't feel sleepy anymore. Riza got up from her seat and brought out a plate of fresh fruits from the fridge which Hisako suspected she'd prepared just for them as it was arranged so neatly and nicely, like one would for a guest. She watched as Riza-san gently urged Erina-sama to take a triangular piece of watermelon, when the Nakiri heiress didn't make a move. Alice-sama daintily stabbed a piece of honey-dew from the dish and passed it to Kurokiba-kun who received it without a word and took some more for herself with an enthusiastic thanks to Riza-san. Hisako took some grapes for herself and gave half of it to Erina-sama. Her pale face and troubled violet eyes invoked the maternal instinct within her as she too tried to encourage her to eat some more fruit to make sure she could go to bed with a full stomach, as she didn't each much of the curry.

Riza-san sat back down and had a piece of watermelon herself.

"With all that being said, I admit it must be hard to stomach the thought of facing a student everyday who makes you feel completely useless and obsolete after so many years of working"

Erina-sama furrowed her eyebrows and tentatively fingered her left over watermelon rind. Hisako's heart drooped in her chest, feeling a twinge of hurt on Erina-sama's behalf. It was clear that Erina-sama took those words too much to heart, something she would never have allowed herself to feel in the past.

"Anyway. There was nothing to keep challenging and exercising his mind and…" Riza-san tapered off as her eyes diverted to the cup in her hands. She frowned and pressed her lips together tightly.

"And what?" asked Alice-sama, polishing off her honey-dew slice. The whole table dropped silent. Hisako knew Hitsugaya-san's background history, but spared telling Alice-sama, Erina-sama and Kurokiba-kun about him because it wasn't her place to say.

"…He started taking risks, pushing his limits to quell his boredom. He dabbled a bit in marijuana"

"Oh my god… _Why?_ " Alice-sama gasped, scrunching her nose up in disdain, while Erina-sama had gone deathly pale. Hisako felt the urge to jump in and defend Hitsugaya-san's as she was convinced he was driven to those choices, but was too surprised at the thought of defending a once-upon-a-time user to follow through.

"Daisuke-kun cannot tolerate boredom. He starts doing crazy things and trust me he becomes a huge headache for me. He needs to be constantly thinking and working things out. So getting high on marijuana made him process information faster, and think even more outside the box than he normally does, which he urghh… _enjoyed_ …If he is bored, he will do anything to be otherwise. Managing _Ryuusenka Apothecary_ keeps his brain engaged and stops it from… falling off the tracks. But do not worry! He does not do marijuana anymore. His parents and I made sure of that. He has been clean for two years. This is why we are here. His parents bought him this apothecary and challenged him to manage it like a business, pay off the debt with his own profits, until he is old enough to apply for scholarships to university"

"You knew all about this, Hishoko?" Alice-sama turned her unnerving red eyes to her.

"Yes, I did…" Hisako admited bashfully.

"Well, well, well. Who would've your first point of emergency is somebody like Hitsugaya-san. Your upper lip isn't as stiff as I thought it was. Or maybe there's something _else_ about him that compels you to go to him for help" Alice-sama smirked at her.

"Alice-sama, _please_ " Hisako pursed her lips together and looked away. She silently begged for the Danish Nakiri to let it go.

"So what about you then?" Alice-sama turned her attention back to Riza-san "How did you end up working in this place?"

"W-Well... How should I put this..." Riza-san stuttered. She smiled shyly and it widened until it was unnaturally big. She tapped her finger against her chin, a sign of struggling to find the right words to begin a story about herself. Hisako didn't know a lot about Riza-san as their interactions were mostly surrounding casual chit-chat and buying and selling stock on her monthly visits. So she was quite interested to know her story too.

 _"Since ya talk about me all the time, it's only fair that I do the honours for ya"_

Hitsugaya-san suddenly re-appeared at the door, his hands stuffed into the front pockets of his hooded sweater. Hisako was hit with a strong odour of chemicals and dirt wafting from him. She resisted the urge to fling her palms across her nose, but Erina-sama, Alice-sama and Kurokiba-san weren't as inconspicuous as they leaned back away. He was smirking down at them, his crooked grin spread across his youthful face. His emerald green eyes danced with mischief. He bore a streak of dark powder, or soot on his cheek. Wherever he returned from, he must have been doing some sort of work outside.

"Riza was the one who recommended my folks to pull me outta school"

"Eh?" Hisako twisted in her seat to look at Hitsugaya-kun's companion. She never knew about that!

"Best god damn advice, if there were any" He continued. He walked around the small dining table towards the fridge and pulled out a can of soft-drink. He ripped open the tab and chugged it down, releasing the rim from his thirsty lips with a soft sigh as his eyes fluttered closed. Hisako immediately looked away when her cheeks started getting hot.

"… I was a student-teacher in Daisuke-kun's school doing my last placement of my teaching degree. I was assigned to his homeroom. I saw what the teachers did and I could not stand it. I could not watch his potential rot away in that school and be treated unfairly in his high school life. Losing trust, losing friends…" Riza-san leaned back against her chair with her arms on her lap, her tone tinged with a bit of disgust and sadness.

Something didn't feel right… _student-teacher?_

"Uh… how old are you exactly?" asked Hisako.

"How old do you think I look?" Riza-san smiled back innocently.

"Like us? Sixteenish?"

"Awww, thanks you guys. I am twenty-five by the end of this year"

 _"SERIOUSLY?!"_

Alice-sama jumped up from her seat. Even Kurokiba-kun's eyes widened and his jaw fell slack. All this time Hisako thought she was their age, or maybe even a year older. Not in a million years did she think this fresh-faced girl was actually a woman nine years their senior. Riza-san was taller than her by a few inches, that was for sure, but she looked so young! Her eyes were bright and her skin was clear. She always tied her black hair up in a pony tail when she was working which gave the added illusion of looking young and bouncy. Did her ancestors drink from The Fountain of Youth or something? Did her genes possess the key to immortality? Wow… Just wow.

"I know, I know. I have such a baby-face. Everybody thinks I look too young for my age" She puffed her cheeks and prodded it in a joking manner "As a student teacher, there was not much I could do to stand up for him. But anyhow, I still wish I could have done something more to help you" Riza-san murmured, throwing a sympathetic look at her boss

"Nah, don't be too hard on ya-self. I woulda raided the science storeroom 'n' cooked somethin' eventually. Like meth. Give 'em a _real_ reason to hate me. If it weren't for ya recommendations to my parents, ya wouldn't 'ave been kicked outta ya degree. And if it weren't for that, ya wouldn't be employed in this pot-pourri sandbox owned by the greatest motherfucker who ever lived" he said flatly.

"Go take your megolomania elsewhere" Riza-san casually slapped him on the shoulder as he wandered back to the kitchen doorway again with his soft-drink. Hisako watched as he just batted her hand away and just for a second she thought she saw something white sticking on his forearm as his sleeves ruffled slightly. Was that a band-aid?

"Stop tellin' people I grew pot"

Hitsugaya-kun clucked his tongue and grabbed three triangular pieces of watermelon and shoved it into his mouth. He cleanly bit off the red, juicy flesh, holding a few pieces of tissue under his chin to stop the juice from dripping everywhere.

"Just like your dad. Always going for the watermelon" chuckled Riza-san.

"There's still a giant half of it left in the fridge. No wastin' in this shop"

"You shouldn't have got kicked out too because of that" commented Alice-sama, nodding towards Riza-san as she smoothly brought the original conversation back to the table.

"Meh, I never liked teaching anyway. I just wanted to do something unrelated to what my family does" replied Riza-san refilling their tea cups. Hisako thanked her quietly and warmed her cold hands around her cup. She saw Erina-sama do the same beside her.

"S-So... umm, where's your f-family..."

Hisako didn't expect to hear Erina-sama dipping her toes into the conversation. She had been very quiet and still this whole time mostly looking down and occasionally looking up, trying to be inconspicuous as possible as she drank her tea and nibbled her fruit. Hisako could definitely understand that this was a new and strange place, nothing like Erina-sama would be used to back at the manor but it was _safe_ which was the important thing. Erina-sama was just trying to process everything that was going on, Tootsuki and _Ryuusenka Apothecary._

"Back in Germany. I am half German, half Chinese by the way. My mum is a chemical engineer from Hong Kong and my dad is a rocket scientist from Berlin. He and his brother, my uncle, are both rocket scientists. His wife, my aunt, is a biomedical engineer and she designs prosthetics. Apparently my grandfather was doing this thing with _'Doctor Without Borders',_ that humanitarian aid organisation, for some time. I do not hear about him much"

"Oh wow, that's quite the family you have" said Alice-sama.

"Yeah, I guess it felt like there was too much to live up to, so I wanted to do something different" Riza-san suppressed a smile. "But since teaching did not work out for me, I followed Daisuke-kun and started working in the apothecary which is actually a lot better! You know, I enjoy it everyday, it is really interesting, I am constantly learning new things, I get to be outside with the nature, I love talking and chatting to everyone and I like to make people happy" Riza-san switched to being bubbly and cheerful again.

"If ya guys are done, head off to to bed or somethin'. Ya things are upstairs" said Hitsugaya-san, jabbing his thumb towards the stairs. He promptly tossed the rinds and his watermelon juice-soaked tissue into the kitchen bin and quickly washed his hands in at the kitchen basin. Then he disappeared through the door.

Alice-sama and Kurokiba-kun proceeded to help Riza-san to wash the dishes while Hisako guided Erina-sama upstairs. The way to the bedrooms were nothing like in Polar Star Dormitories when she'd been there to update Isshiki-senpai on Erina-sama's business from time to time. It was bare, simplistic, very wooden and very narrow. There weren't a lot of decorations around or any plush carpets. Given Hitsugaya-san's and Riza-san's living style, she guessed they didn't need much.

"It's alright, Hisako. I can walk on my own from here"

Erina-sama pointed to her suitcase which was already by the door in one of the rooms. It was sitting next to Alice-sama's bag too, meaning they were sharing rooms. Hisako nodded and reluctantly let her go. She went off to find her own room, hoping to see her own travel case there. She came to the next room which was down right at the end. There was still light coming from there. It was very dim though. Perhaps it's a lamp that was still left on? Hisako looked around to see if there was anyone else coming upstairs and kept her ears peeled for any signs of approaching creaking wood. She didn't see her suitcase waiting there... but she thought she'd check anyway. She tip-toed to the room and gently pushed the door open. Luckily it didn't creak.

There were books and papers everywhere.

Hisako furrowed her eyebrows. There was a shelf shoved to the brim with books as well as scrolls, almost falling out in piles. There was a large single bed with the covers all kicked around a twisted, completely unmade since the morning. There was a study desk or a table pushed to the side and it was also decked out with books and there was an opened laptop with the generic bubble screen saver, lazily bouncing around on the screen. She trailed her gaze across the messy room and stopped at the bedside table. An old lamp and a thick, staple bound document sat there which didn't look as aged as the rest of the papers scattered around.

The title caught her attention.

 _Challenge, tension and possibilty: an exploration into contemporary western herbal medicine in The United States of America._

Oh! It was a research article! It was clear that this was most definitely not her temporary room since it was so unkempt and her travel case wasn't there. But Hisako leaned in closer to get a good look at the research paper. Hisako roved her eyes over for the publication date, but there wasn't any. It said _'in press'_ oh, that meant it wasn't published yet. How did a hardcopy of an unpublished paper ended up here? Hisako raised her eyebrows. It was authored by. _.._

 _'Oh my god. Doctor Haruno Sakura? How did they get the latest unpublished research paper from Doctor Haruno Sakura?'_

Hisako couldn't help it and reached out. She took the document in her hand and felt it's weight sitting comfortably in them. It was dog-eared in some places and there were pen-marks and underlining. She skimmed over the abstract of the research paper, enthralled by this unique study from the famous Doctor of Toudai, who was essentially her hero in the herbal medicine field. She was so in awe and hungrily ran her eyes over the first page, absorbing as much information as she could, that she didn't notice a shadow fell on top of her.

 _"Plannin' on sleepin' with me tonight?"_

"WAAAAHHHH!"

Hisako jumped out of her skin! She spun around, clutched the research paper tightly to her chest and bumped her shoulder against the door jamb. She detected the the amused chuckle of Hitsugaya Daisuke standing there with his hands in his pockets. _Drat!_ She was too distracted. Embarrassment and shame bubbled in the pits of her stomachs for being caught out. Her mouth rapidly opened and closed, trying to quickly conjure an excuse. Realisation dawned on her that t _his was his room! She was just in his room!_ His eyes bored into hers as he slowly approached her with a glint of cheek in those bright green eyes.

"I-I wasn't, I d-didn't-"

"It's fine. Ya coulda just asked 'n' I'd be happy to provide the compa-"

"It's not like that!" Yelled Hisako, her face in full crimson bloom.

 _He was messing with her!_

She sucked in gulps of air as she steadied her dangerously simmering mood. Hisako furrowed her eyebrows trying to give him her most stern and angry look, but he was unfazed which made her more fidgety. She looked around nervously and tried to edge away from the doorway to make it look like she wasn't _really_ tresspassing, but he was in the way so she stopped short. Hitsugaya-san's sharp eyes dipped to the research paper in her hand. Hisako gulped, having made aware that she was holding something personal of his. Before she could open her mouth and explain further, he plucked it from her. She flinched and released it, her hands occupied herself by rubbing her arms up and down as her embarrassment grew. Hisako had a habit of apologising for all her trangressions. Unfortunately this habit started only after doing her _Stagiare_ with Yukihira. She regretted not being a more remorseful and compassionate person before meeting him. So even though Hitsugaya-san was teasing her again and making her feel all flustered, she was still adamant to apologise.

"Sorry, I didn't know this was your room... I didn't mean to pry-"

"It's fine" his smooth voice cut her off.

He didn't seem to be paying attention to her apology at all and was just casually thumbing through the document in front of her. Her brain was itching to know why and how did he get his hands on the paper from the prestigious Doctor Haruno Sakura. Hisako tried to muster the question without sounding like she was jealous. She wasn't jealous! She had to know!

"Umm…How did you get this paper from Doctor Haruno? It hasn't even been published yet" asked Hisako.

"Mum dropped it off the last time she visited. She said she hid a puzzle in there for me. She's been doin' that ever since her first Phd" he flipped the document close and tossed it back onto the beside table, almost knocking over the lamp.

"Oh okay…wait… _WHAT!"_ The rosette haired rounded on the apothecary owner causing him to stumble backwards. He inched further back as Hisako grabbed him by the collar of his hooded jacket and shook him back and forth.

Mum?

Dropped off?

Puzzle?

Phd?

No way. An innocuous enough statement from him, but the insinuation behind it was down right unbelievable.

 _"Your mother is the GREAT Doctor Haruno Sakura?!"_

This had to be a joke and he was pulling her leg like he did a million times before! There was no way he could be related to the world-reknowned Doctor Haruno Sakura. She tried to put the two and two together, but the numbers weren't crunching and spitting out something locial. She back tracked and tried to think of the clues. Riza-san mentioned on one of her visits that his mother was a professor at Toudai. He owned an apothecary and had an affinity for herbs and spices. How was she supposed to guess from that!

"Yeah"

"But your last name is different!"

"In the medical field, she's 'Professor Haruno' 'cause that's her professional title as part of her job. For everthin' else not work related, she's Mrs. Hitsugaya, takin' my dad's name" the teen sighed in exasperation. He rubbed the back of his neck.

She could tell that _that_ was supposed to make sense to her, but in all honesty, Hisako was still reeling from the fact that she's been going to the apothecary of her idol's son for the past two years every month, and now has dragged him into helping her shelter Erina-sama in his shop! Doctor Haruno herself was the world-leading specialist in Chinese herbal medicine. With both a practicing degree in surgery and outstanding qualifications in acupuncture and Chinese medicine, she was able to utilise her hands-on clinical practice to all of Japan's research in incorporating Eastern medicine with Western medicine and naturotherapy with amazing breakthroughs. She currently held tenure as a teaching professor for the honours class in Toudai in Chinese Medicine and held the chairperson on the board of _Nippon Tōyō Igakkai_ , otherwise known as the 'Japan Society for Oriental Medicine' for six years running. She also co-authored the revised edition of 'The Actual Practice of Kampō Medicine' still used by practicing herbalists today. The first time she saw Doctor Haruno Sakura herself was during the Elite Ten Reshuffle as a taste testing judge and she almost fainted a hundred times over. Isshiki-senpai had kept the guest judges really tight lipped.

This boy in front of her was her _son!_ If that were really true, it became marginally easier to digest the idea that maybe Hitsugaya-san had inherited some of her intellect or something. What about his father? Was he intellectual too?

"Oh my god… all this time, _you're her son!"_ Hisako buried her face in her hands. Why did she feel like she was always ten steps behind Hitsugaya-san?

"I'm lookin' a lot better than before, huh?" he chuckled.

 _"Shut up!"_

"Is that any way to talk to Professor Haruno's son 'n' the same person who's generously harbourin' ya 'n' ya friends?"

"Urghh..." Hisako continue to groan into her hands, not daring to looking into that bastard's smug face. She gave up and swallowed her pride "Thank you though… for doing this for us"

 _"Anythin' for ya, sweetheart"_

Hisako dropped her hands and peeked a look at him. She wasn't sure, but she could've almost sworn that his voice just now was tender and not laced with his usual barb and wit. He just quickly chucked her under the chin before slipping past her into his own room.

"So you wanna join me or-"

"N-No I'm fine!" Hisako spluttered and her face lit up like hot coals again. Before she could embarrass herself any further, she scampered off and ducked into the next room and almost tripped over the travel case sitting just by the door. Thank goodness it was hers. She'd never felt so glad to almost break her ankle over her own travel case right now. She was in the temporary safe zone. She quickly shut the door and slumped her back against it. She slid down to the floor with a thump and pulled her knees up to her chest. Even though there wasn't anyone to see her, she still buried her face against her knees.

He was making her heart beat too fast.

* * *

 _ **Day Three  
**_

The Survivors Purge had begun.

Father had found out that she wasn't actually hiding out in Polar Star dorm at all and just as Hitsugaya predicted, her father unleashed his fury on the residents of Polar Star and everybody else who was associated with them. The Aldini Brothers, Mito-san and Hayama-san. They were labelled as rebels and were subjected to vilification and were ostracized at school. Erina's heart filled with terror. Now all the research clubs were under threat! They were all going to be crushed and bulldozed over. Club presidents were desperately trying to save their beloved research society and even went as far as to challenge the new Central in _shokugekis_ to keep their place... the new 'Central'... she had no idea who was on it, but she knew Father would choose only whom he thought were the best. As far as she knew, Isshiki-senpai was booted off the Council, but the rest of the Elite Ten changed their minds and decided to follow Father after all.

This was all her fault!

If only she hadn't agreed to this... and now everybody was sacrificing their futures for her, all for the sake of protecting her against Father. Why?! _Why?! After everything she'd done to them, she didn't deserve to be protected like this._ She was prejudiced against them, she was mean to them, she was arrogant towards them, she was such a stuck up _tsundere. Yes! She admitted!_ She had been an utter bitch all her life and it made her guilt worse. She didn't dare call them her friends because she'd never been a good friend herself to anyone besides Hisako. Now she was having doubts as to whether if she was even a good friend to Hisako. She treated her like a secretary most of the time and Hisako had always copped her anger without so much as a complaint.

 _'I really am the worse'_

Then she thought of Yukihira going against Father and her heart ached. She was terrified. Father did NOT tolerate originality and creativity and Yukihira was going to push those boundaries. He might be a wild card and was great at surprising everyone with his cooking prowess and winning _shokugekis_ , but Father had over twenty years of cooking experience under his knife and was a massive gourmet good mogul. Yukihira wouldn't stand a chance. She hated the fact that in this moment, she cared for him. For once in her life, she cared for somebody more than herself and it was Yukihira Souma! She knew what he was going to do and it wasn't going to end well. His luck will run out. She received news from Hisako, as she still kept in contact with Isshiki-senpai, that he had already banded up his friends to rebel against Father, tooth and nail to save the future of Tootsuki. _It was a stupid plan! Full of wishful thinking and idiocy!_ No one could be strong enough to go against Father, not even _Ojii-sama._

Erina couldn't sleep at all. She kept walking around the apothecary in the dark, her body couldn't keep still and she was too anxious, scared and angry to be in a small room. For the first few days, she'd just be in the room she shared with Alice, doing nothing but loathe herself and the situation she was in, refusing to come out. Hisako always brought food and water to her, she couldn't bring herself to join the rest of them in the small dining room. She didn't know what had been happening downstairs in the apothecary either. She supposed Heiderich-san and Hitsugaya-san were just continuing with their everyday business, selling herbs, spices, salves, soaps and tea.

 _'Eventually they'll be in danger too...'_

The cold air penetrated through the thin wool blanket she dragged around with her and it made her shiver. The old apothecary had a draft. She welcomed that. She'd feel even more guilty if she was comfortable. She spotted a jar on the counter, housing blooming red flowers suspended in some sort of liquid, illuminated by the moonlight filtering through the front shop window. She turned away and decided to visit the back. Perhaps she should be a masochist and sit out in the cold and experience the biting winds because she wasn't really a 'sheltered' girl anymore.

Her thought returne to Yukihira and what he and his friends were going through with Father's new 'Central' biting at their heels… she felt great fear for him. The prospect of his career as a chef exploding to smithereens... and never seeing him again. She was scared… she was terrified.

For the first time she felt terror not for herself!

'… _I…'_

What was this new feeling?

It was old. It was painful. It was heart wrenching. It was confusing. It was made her angry.

' _No… I can't… I can't accept…!'_

These surges of wild emotions were ripping her was no way she could hold strong feelings for Yukihira Souma. She gasped as a surprising round of tears seized her and her shoulders starting shaking. Why was she caring about him so much to the point that she was aching for his safety more than she did her own? Whatever this feeling was, she didn't want it. Not one bit. It was too much for her. She couldn't stop thinking about him and it was so frustrating. There was no way that she liked him this much! Erina-sama gripped the wool blanket tighter and gripped the handle of the sliding door to the back porch of the apothecary with all her might. She liked Hisako, but she didn't feel this much pain when she thought Hisako was in trouble for something. So what was it instead? It had to be stronger. What was stronger than 'liking' someone. The distraught Nakiri gasped.

 _LOVE?!_

 _Did she love Yukihira Souma?!_

The feeling intensified and it revolted her. Her stomach clenched as if the thought was causing her actual physical distress now. Erina, in a fit of confusion and anger slid back the porch door roughly with a loud clatter

"Kami-sama! Why did I have to go ahead a fall in love with that _stupid-_ "

 _"Love is painful, ain't it?"_

"Ah!" Erina yelped.

She didn't expect Hitsugaya-san to be sitting out there by himself! He was still dressed in the clothes he had on today. A red hooded jumper and thick jeans. He had a tray of tea beside him and there were two tea cups. Erina rubbed her eyes to make sure he really was there and she wasn't hallucinating due to her muddle brain. What was he doing here? She realised it was a stupid question as he owned this place and could stay up late whenever he pleased. Heiderich-san was probably with him earlier but had gone to bed, leaving him alone on the porch. He continued to face the back towards the garden and the mountains in the distance, blanketed under the soft glow of the stars.

"Ya cousin Alice seems to think this guy named Yukihira Souma is a match made in hell for ya" he said nonchalantly. "But then again love does move in mysterious ways"

Erina scrunched her nose at his country twang.

Love? _Love?! It really was painful!_ It was nothing like in the _shoujou_ _manga_ that Hisako brought to her. It was meant to be full of lovely, light, flowery emotions that sent girls into a tizzy. But what she was experiencing wasn't it. If this was 'love' she felt for Yukihira Souma, the she didn't want it at all. He didn't deserve her love! The man she dreamed she'd always be with and have her happily ever after would be one of pure-blood, noble birth, dignified, respectable, wealthy, dripping with success and pedigree. Yes. _That_ was the type of person who was supposed suit her. Everybody in the Nakiri Family said that only the best would be suitable for her match and who better than somebody who shared her elite social class. That was the sort of person she _should_ fall in love with. Not Yukihira. He was loud, stupid, rambunctious, unorthodox, spontaneous, too carefree, so dense and uneducated about the gourmet food world!

He was about to sacrifice everything against her Father! _So utterly foolish_ …

Erina wiped her tears with the heels over her palm in frustration. Her palms stang from where her nails were plunged into, marking it with angry crescent moon indents.

But…

Yukihira had only been kind to her. He'd never said a bad thing against her despite all the animosity she catapulted at him. He was full of vibrant energy and she was drawn to it against her will. He sought her help when he needed it. He chatted and bantered with her as if she was just an ordinary person. He treated her like one of his friends, not a princess. His smile was so bright and honest; it did strange things to her insides whenever she saw it. His eyes were full of emotion, not cold and stoic like hers. People could easily tell what he was thinking. He had so much fun in the kitchen, and it made everybody else feel the same way. He was inspired by everything and motivated and in return everyone was inspired and motivated by him. He never backed down from a challenge but took it with gusto and never feared failure. His cooking prowess was phenomenal and it became harder and harder to deny it as time went by. Deep down in her heart Erina didn't think he deserved it. He angered her, annoyed her, irritated her to the point that he was constantly digging in her mind. And whenever he was on her mind, she felt hot and her thoughts were all jumbled.

He was always on her mind…

Hitsugaya-san motioned for her to sit and she did.

"Is everything I try to do… _always_ turn out so badly and all messed up?" she seethed under her breath.

Erina tugged the thin wool blanket over her shoulders tightly. She gritted her teeth and painful anger spiked her eyes with resentful tears. She just couldn't understand! Why! Why her! Why him! That undeniable and wrong attraction she felt for this low-life tore her apart with so much confusion it was unbearable.

"Hmmm… I'd say ye-"

"What have I done… what have I _ever_ done in my life to deserve this… this… _stupid, dense, second-rate, uncouth, rule-breaking Yukihira Souma!"_ she cut Hitsugaya off sharply.

"Everythin'"

Erina's eyes flew to his in shock. How dare he sit next to her sipping casually on his tea, uncaring and apathetic to her turmoil! He was relaxed and his eyelids half closed almost in sheer boredom as he stared across his tea garden to the starry sky glittering behind the lush mountain. He irritated her beyond belief. He was so arrogant, rude and all around a bastard and everything that came out of his mouth was snide. Even now, he couldn't give a damn. There was not a kind bone in his body. _That_ she knew for sure.

"Look, Hitsugaya. This isn't funny. Seriously— "

"No, I mean it. _Everythin'_. Everythin' ya ever done, is what ya did _"_ He said monotonously, emphasising the last few words.

Erina twisted towards him and slammed her hand onto the wooden porch as hard as she could. The loud and hollow smack finally caught his attention and he flickered his luminescent green eyes towards her, however his head did not turn. He was unsmiling as he finally set his tea-cup down. A hint of annoyance flashed across his eyes but his lips were stitched shut as he half-glared down at her from the side while she shook with so much anger.

" _Hitsugaya…_ One more word from you—"

"You're noble girl born with the God's Tongue and you were abused and brainwashed by your dad for so many years until you can't think of anything else but what's ingrained in you. You've never been a gracious winner in your entire life. You've hurled food at people who can't cook to your impossible standards and repeatedly degraded and humiliated them and think that's an okay thing to do. All before hitting puberty. Am I right?"

Erina faltered. Was it just her or did his country accent disappear and was suddenly replaced by the proper Japanese accent from the city! His snow white hair at his neck ruffled slightly against his hooded sweater as he finally turned to face her fully. His jaw was stiff and set. Erina almost wished he was still facing the garden and not at her, because the brash nature she was used to seeing around the apothecary was intensifying more than before, silencing her in her place. He breathed with such a stormy coolness that fear prickled her skin and her hair stood up on end, unsure of what he would say or do next. She knew she did horrible things before, but to hear it directly from someone's lips as cold and uncaring as Hitsugaya Daisuke caused shame to ripple through her. She gaped openly and shivered as his sharp eyes drilled into hers with complete seriousness, commanding her attention.

In a split second, he continued.

"Even many years after your dad fucked off, you couldn't sit still in your throne long enough before you challenged everybody around you to sacrifice their club house to you so that you can demolish it and unnecessarily expand your already-decked-out private kitchen. _Just because you could_. Yeah your cousin talks to much, blame her for spilling the beans. Anyway, your school is basically chef boot-camp day after day like you're expecting to wage war against Le Cordon Bleu. Its curriculum is designed to cull students rather than test their mettle and your teachers threaten expulsion whenever somebody holds an eggplant the wrong way. Your school promotes _putting stakes_ in student-initiated food duels, which is basically 'gateway-gambling' and I question this kind of _toxic_ environment you live in. Your best friend is your retainer who is so loyal to a fault that she would eat any food she believes is poisoned for you. You constantly gravitate to these so called free-thinking 'rebels' from the Polar Star Dorm and you unconsciously obsess over them. Your cousin _really_ doesn't know how to shut her trap. She is a personified energy drink who's adopted a bipolar stray from the Danish ghetto to be her aide, and is ready to elope with her on-and-off again selectively mute boyfriend who drives a car without a license. Also according to my mum, your granddad faked your dead mum's Last Will and Testament without regard for the consequences. _Fucking hell…_ Even the place you find safe from danger is an old apothecary run by a high school dropout who used to grow marijuana!"

Erina was violently taken aback by the thinly veiled acid dripping from his razor sharp tongue as he mercilessly picked piece by piece, her past and present situation. He stared at her as if she should be understanding the meaning behind every word from his mouth, but she didn't at all! Was this the fury of a _tensai?_ Was this what genius' were like when they didn't hold back? Gone were his usual sarcasm as he was telling her his exact observations. Erina had known this boy for less than a week and already he was psychoanalysing her life-story, laden with the inconvenient truth of her. Her mind momentarily went blank with shock until the night crickets suddenly chirped and brought her back to the here and now. She tripped over her God's Tongue.

"W-What does _that_ have to do with any-"

" _Nakiri._ You are addicted to a certain kind of lifestyle" the apothecary owner grounded it out through gritted teeth, his patience wearing dangerously thin "You're abnormally attracted to chaotic and unorthodox people and situations… So is it _truly_ such a surprise that the boy _you_ _fall in love with…_ conforms to that pattern?"

Her breath stopped.

What… was he saying…

No… _No_ …

That wasn't true…

None of that was true…

' _He doesn't know what he's saying! He's just a country hick who doesn't know a thing about me… I'm not that kind of person… I'm not that kind of person…! I'M NOT THAT KIND OF PERSON!'_

The distraught heiress fisted her hands against her pyjama pants. _Oh God._ Immense nausea surged up her throat and a choking sob escaped her. Was her life really that _twisted_ , more twisted than she'd realised? The more she thought about it, the more it became true and it singed her. Yukihira Souma represented everything she abhorred. He represented everything she should not deign her attention to. And yet, he fitted seamlessly into the chaotic life she lived and created explosions everywhere he went.

She heard the tell-tale trickling of tea being poured in two cups as Hitsugaya reverted back to being aloof, still uncaring that she was practically bawling. Her eyes were blurry and her lap was soaked with her warm dripping tears which turned cold instantly in the cool night. She felt the blanket slip from her shuddering shoulders as the overwhelming feeling of her admission consumed her.

It was terrifying. She couldn't deny it anymore.

 _She loved him. She loved Yukihira Souma!_

The Nakiri heiress cried in defeat. It had taken her so long to realise it and now that she did, she was heartbroken that her fate was sealed with his. She had no idea when those feeling first developed and perhaps she would never find out. Nothing would ever be the same again and that scared her the most. Her destiny wasn't supposed to play out like this! This wasn't what she wanted! Everything she knew was suddenly crumbling around her and it wasn't fair! She wanted to be with her dream guy! The wealthy, the noble, the respectably and dignified man who was worthy of her and her name! Everything that was _not_ Yukihira Souma. She wanted the comfortable life befitting of her station as they conquered the gourmet food world together! But why did the one her love turn out to be the diner boy Yukihira Souma!?

"M-My first l-love… wasn't supposed to _be_ like that… Why is _he_ like that?!" she yelled at Hitsugaya angrily.

Hitsugaya blinked once.

"Because… _you chose him"_

Her eyes flew to his and the night was casted into eerie silence as time stopped.

Emerald green stared back at violet.

 _Because_

 _You_

 _Chose_

 _Him_

Her heart throbbed painfully in her chest, ready to burst out of her ribcage in a bloody mess. Pain coursed through her as she gave up and screamed into the night and curled her knees up into a tight ball, her head pressed into her lap as she hugged her legs. The darkness swallowed her sobs which were infinitesimal against the vast nothingness that filled the cold night's air. What happened to his long speech?! That was all Hitsugaya could say?! Because she _chose him?!_ Yukihira Souma was the way he was because _she chose him!? That didn't make any sense!_ Erina bit her lip as more tears cascaded down her cheeks. She cried loudly but was muffled by her pyjamas as her sobs racked her fragile body. She let out her frustration in waves until her she drained her strength.

Finally, when there was nothing left, despair settled within her emptiness as she resigned herself to the emotions she had been fighting tirelessly against for the past few years. He made it sound like all her choices were her own fault, that there were no such things like Gods, spirits, fate, destiny or other outside forces making her fall in love with Yukihira Souma…

… _She had chosen Yukihira Souma, the unrefined, diner chef, for her first love, because that was what she inherently liked…_

She lifted her head up swaying slightly, her golden hair stuck to her face and she must be looking like a complete mess but she didn't care in that moment. She turned towards Hitsugaya, seeking some sort of reassurance that this was really happening, this wasn't a nightmare and her life was really this messed up. When she did, she couldn't stop staring at the apothecary owner. His eyes held hers strongly and something akin to sympathy seeped from his green orbs. He was still not smiling.

He was absolutely serious.

He wasn't joking. He wasn't teasing her. He wasn't tricking her. He wasn't being a smart-arse and that proved to the Nakiri heiress that this… this… _jerk…_ was capable of being sincere. That his opinions weren't so easily dismissed.

'… _I chose him…'_

The words sounded so alien in her head. To another person, the vagueness would make it seem so profound. But it was a simple inference, purely from Hitsugaya's observation. An obvious conjecture he got within a few seconds and it took her almost two years to figure out. All of a sudden tranquillity took over her and her heart steadied itself as she drifted in the calm after the storm of her pent-up emotions, heading towards clarity. Her eyes felt so bloated and puffy she could barely see what was in front of her. She no longer had the strength to even pity herself.

' _I chose Yukihira…'_

One moment… two moments… three moments… She finally accepted it.

She chose to love him because of simply those qualities. She was attracted to those qualities for whatever reason that only Hitsugaya seemed to understand with some sort of weird brand of logic of his. And that conclusion was because her lifestyle matched Yukihira's whirl wind personality. She had always been this way, realising it, even before she'd met him. He riled her in a way that nobody else could. He stoked her flame without realising and it sent tingles through her which all this time had mistaken it for irritation. She was always anticipating what unorthodox stunt he was going to pull next in competitions and _shokugekis._ He challenged her all the time. He challenged her cooking, her knowledge, her personality and her world view. Nobody else did that. The excitement that there was somebody out there who could challenge her God's Tongue was intoxicating.

Could a wealthy, noble, dignified, respectable man from a pedigree family stir the same sorts of feelings within her? _Never._ She would have lead a very unfulfilled life.

She straightened her posture and daintily pushed her hair from her face, tucking it neatly behind her ears. She breathed the cold night hair deeply. She didn't have an extraordinary sense of smell like Hayama-san, but she could definitely smell the distinct notes of several herbs which were naturally drying, but temporarily underneath the cotton cloth on the drying table.

Erina was too weary.

"You should get back to bed" said Hitsugaya tonelessly.

She stirred a bit. It might be three o'clock in the morning for all she knew. She nodded automatically, too tired to tell him he had no place to boss her around or make some other comment. He didn't look sleepy at all, like he was used to staying up late for _Kami-sama_ knew what reason.

"Y-Yeah…" she whispered. He didn't react. She shakily got to her feet and padded away, slipping silently through the back door of the apothecary and up the stairs to the room she and Alice shared.

She felt worse than she did before coming down.

* * *

"Get up everyone! Wakey wakey!"

Hisako jolted from her bed as a loud banging rang throughout the upstairs landing. It was dizzying and she willed for her head to stop spinning. It was too loud! Hitsugaya-kun continued to make a ruckus without a care in the world. _Blasted!_ She could also hear an evil chuckle every now and again as he stomped up and down the corridor banging the broom stick everywhere he went. Alice-sama was cursing him in Danish from the other room. She wished he would just stop. Her head was still sleep deprived and her body ached to go back to sleep as she squinted out the window into the dim light of dawn. Why did they have to get up at… She turned slowly to her alarm clock.

' _It's Five o' clock in the freaking morning!'_

Hisako groaned and flopped back onto the pillow. They never got up this early on all the other days, so why now?! Oh yeah… she remembered, the local elementary school will be having a class excursion at _Ryuusenka Apothecary_ today _._ Wonderful.

"You too sweetheart. No special treatment from ya"

Hisako bolted up again, blinking away the sleep that crawled back through her eyes as Hitsugaya-kun leaned casually leaning against her door, smirking at her devilishly, with his dratted broom resting against his shoulders. She blushed as his piercing eyes gaze at her. His lips were quirked in one corner as he tilted his head at her. It wasn't fair that he was this good looking! She unconsciously pulled the blankets up her chest, a little shy that he crossed the threshold into her area, her temporary room. It was his shop and home in the first place… He was wearing a light blue hoodie and his work jeans, but his foot remained bare. He looked spritely for so early in the morning, but then again, as the owner of _Ryuusenka Apothecary,_ waking up at dawn was no big deal for him to get the business day started.

' _But he stayed up so late with Erina-sama…'_

Yep. She knew.

Last night she woke up in the wee hours to use the bathroom and on the way back she found Erina-sama and Alice-sama's door to be still open. It was odd because they always closed the door, so she ventured a peek in to see if everything was alright and to her shock Erina-sama wasn't in bed! She had wondered where she could have gone off to in the middle of the night, because it wasn't like her to go exploring in a strange place like this. So Hisako forgoed sleep and made it her mission to find Erina-sama before she got into trouble in the old apothecary.

She eventually did find Erina-sama, but to her surprise she was actually outside on the back porch having tea with the Hitsugaya-kun! She was wrapped in a wool blanket in her pyjamas and the snowy-haired high school dropout was sitting in the same hoodie and jeans from yesterday, with no intentions to getting to bed. At that point, Hisako had thought she was dreaming, but the coldness from the night's air made sure it was real to her. Erina-sama and Hitsugaya-kun avoided each other like no tomorrow so there was no way they'd be sharing tea together. It was too wacky. So Hisako had ducked down and hid herself to listen in to their conversation.

She heard everything.

She had listened to Erina-sama lamenting her woes angrily at Hitsugaya-kun, and crying. Her own heart ached with sorrow to hear such pain and anguish from her best friend and noble charge. But she did nothing. She had remained crouched there, with her cardigan over her shoulders below the window that looked out over the porch and the tea garden. She knew Hitsugaya-kun could have been brutally callous and continued to be his usual unpleasant self if he had wanted to, but she was glad he had the sense to hold back on that night, especially with Erina-sama's vulnerability open to him. Still, Hisako knew his patience could only stretch so far. Right on the money, Hitsugaya told Erina-sama with no remorse, the scathing truth of what he thought her life at Tootsuki and the Nakiri Family had shaped her choices, when she was too slow to figure out her feelings.

Despite Erina-sama sniping at Hitsugaya-kun to shut up, she had listened to what the _tensai_ had to say. She absorbed it, every word. She heard it. And what was more… Hisako could tell that deep down… _Erina-sama agreed._ The moment when her best friend came to terms with her feelings, Hisako was relieved. She'd always known that Erina-sama was in love-hate-love with Yukihira Souma, but she'd never acknowledged it, believing that Erina-sama would eventually get over it, but she didn't. Still, Hisako had never broached the topic out of fear of crossing over the line of impertinence.

There were many milestones in a person's life and this was one of Erina-sama's. Hisako believed it had been the best thing for her noble charge but she couldn't help feel she still had let her down. She should have been the one to provide her the shoulder to cry on and gently carry her through her romantic revelation as she was her best friend and confidant. Instead, Hitsugaya-kun was there and he threw her into the deep end. Hisako didn't know if she should be angry at him, or thankful for him, for that. Erina-sama had been coddled and sheltered for the majority of her life. Perhaps this was the best way to do this, and for some reason Hitsugaya-kun knew it too.

Once Erina-sama had gone up to bed without realising Hisako was there hidden in the shadows, she continued to listen to the music of the night and shyly peeked over the window sill. She caught a glimpse of Hitsugaya still sitting on the porch with his legs spread out as he downed the rest of his tea, but he made no move to leave. She was enthralled by his soft hair, catching the moonlight. The last thing she remembered clearly was feeling sleepy again and rosette-haired secretary decided to go back to bed, leaving him to sit alone in the cold night.

 _Shuffle… shuffle… shuffle…_

The sound of Kurokiba-kun's heavy steps trudging down the stairs to the shop-level roused her from her reflection. Hisako pursed her lips and held her tongue, remembering that Hitsugaya-kun had went out of his way to house them and uncharacteristically helped Erina-sama through her personal crisis when he didn't have to. So she obediently threw the covers off to gather her clothes for the day. Hitsugaya-kun continued to grin smugly at her as he twirled the broom in his hands. He ducked his head out of her room again.

"Look alive people! This ain't a funeral home!" he cackled loudly. He was enjoying this _way_ too much.

"Urghh…" a sleepy and disgruntled Alice-sama appeared behind the apothecary owner with one hand on her hip and the other clasped over her left ear. "Could you like, keep your voice down—"

" _NOT REALLY!"_

That gave her a heart attack! Alice-sama reacted more violently and sprang up like a spooked cat and hissed at him ferociously, her face scrunched up in fury.

"Hmmph! So ungentlemanly!" Alice-sama harrumphed and stomped her way to the bathroom.

Hisako couldn't believe he actually did that and yelled at her! His loud voice exorcised the sleep-demons from her body and she was completely wide awake now. Hitsugaya-kun finally left her alone to get changed and when she was she finished, she was the last one down the stairs. When she got down, Riza-san was already there fixing everybody's breakfast with Kurokiba-kun at the stove. It was still dark outside, barely any sunlight coming in. There was just basic rice with miso soup and grilled fish with a side of _tamagoyaki_. The normal Japanese house breakfast.

She immediately spotted Erina-sama sitting at the small dinging table. She must have woken up before everyone else. Or maybe she ended up not sleeping at all last night, if those heavy bags under her eyes were anything to go by. It made her worry and Hisako made a beeline for Erina-sama.

"Good morning, Erina-sama. How are you feeling?" she asked.

"Alright, I suppose…" she replied distractedly.

Nope, she definitely didn't sleep.

There was a light blush on Erina-sama's face as she was staring out across the small dining area with a glazed look in her violet eyes. It didn't seem like Erina-sama was in any mood for a morning chat. In a normal situation she would be fussing all over her, scrambling to find ways to make her comfortable, but this wasn't a normal situation and she didn't think it would be helpful right now given her mistress's desire just to sit quietly. Riza-san placed down a bowl of rice in front of her and she smiled gratefully at their hostess. The rosette haired secretary looked around the table for the elusive boy, but Hitsugaya-kun was nowhere to be found. Riza-san came back around and placed a pot of green tea in the middle of the table while Kurokiba-kun dished out the grilled fish. Everyone knew to leave the tea alone until it was fully brewed before pouring their cups.

"Where's Hitsugaya-san? His food's going to get cold" asked Alice-sama.

"Oh do not worry about him, he will come down when he is ready. Go ahead and eat first" chuckled Riza-san. She was always smiling and Hisako was glad for a bit of metaphorical sunshine in this otherwise brooding place. The older girl placed another bowl of rice down at the empty place-sitting beside Hisako for Hitsgugaya-kun.

"If you say so. _Itadakimasu!"_ chimed Alice-sama.

Everybody else did the same and they dived into having a quiet breakfast together. Of course the food was delicious because Kurokiba-kun made it. But it wasn't the type of breakfast any of them were used to simply because they've all grown up in noble houses where grilled fish wasn't going to cut it, but beggers couldn't be choosers so they just ate what was available in Hitsugaya-kun's kitchen.

 _"Alright people. Here's the story"_

Hisako looked up and turned towards that silky and clear voice which haunted her at times. Hitsugaya-kun came down the stairs with a notepad in his hand and the other scratching his snow-white hair. His hair was styled more neatly this time and fashionably spiked, and he donned a black hoodie over a white shirt. Hisako remembered to swallow as she fought the blush that was coming on as she hurriedly looked away, pretending to be busy picking her chopsticks into her grilled mackerel. He sauntered over without looking at any of them and plopped himself in the chair beside her. He swung his leg over the other and propped his elbow on the back rest. Hisako continued to eat nervously, trying to act normal, whatever normal was. His natural chrysanthemum scent mixed with other herbs tickled her nose pleasantly and she found herself inhaling deeply in his direction. He was still reading his notepad as he reached over and pour himself a cup of tea…

…and one for her…

 _…Only her…_

Hisako couldn't stop the blush now, as she gawked at the cup of tea he placed near her. He leaned back into his chair like his obligations for helping out with breakfast was job well done, continuing to peruse his notepad. Riza-san rolled her eyes and poured a cup of tea for everybody else. She felt someone's cheeky stare boring into her and she regretted turning around to see because it was Alice-sama wriggling her eyebrows at her suggestively. _Pouring her a cup of tea didn't mean anything!_ Hisako's insides knotted in embarrassment and her face was incredibly warm! She hastily shoved another piece of fish meat into her mouth and tried her best to completely ignore her.

"As ya know, those brats from the school-house are visitin' us today. They're avin' an excursion here to learn about farmin', plants, nature 'n' whatever. Riza 'n' I usually teach 'em, set up activities 'n' do demos. Also we usually 'ave to close the apothecary for this, but since I've gained myself new _employees"_ He smirked at everyone "I can afford to keep my shop open for the day. Ya goin' to continue runnin' the apothecary for me"

"Running a shop!?" spluttered Erina-sama. She quickly composed herself and dabbed her lips with her tissue.

"Ya didn't think stayin' here will be free, did ya?" he quirked his eyebrow at her.

"…of course not…" she huffed and went back to eating with as much dignity as she could muster.

"I think it'll be fun!" exclaimed Alice-sama. "Customer service is part of what we do, so this will be a cinch. Right Ryou-kun?"

" _Ousu"_

"Thanks a lot you guys" said Riza-san. "Normally around this season we get a lot of tourists from the cities coming down for a nice getaway, so we would like to take advantage of this time"

Hisako nibbled on her slice of _tamagoyaki_ nodding along to the conversation.

"Arato and Nakiri Alice, I want ya to man the counter. I trust ya'll figure out how to use a digital scale. I've placed the pricin' guide for each product per ten grams out there for ya. Kurokiba, why doncha clean the front 'n' insides, 'n' make it look like I'm not housin' fugitives 'n' set out the wares in my shop. The cleanin' stuff are in the storeroom. Nakiri Erina, I've got rush orders for aromatherapy soaps to be sent out later this week. Just read the purchase orders I've already printed out in the back-room 'n' wrap the cakes of soap in bubble wrap before puttin' them in the right boxes" ordered Hitsugaya-san. He didn't touch his food, only the tea.

"Understood?"

"You got it~" sang Alice-sama.

"But handling that much soap? My hands will get really dry and it might damage my skin" argued back Erina-sama.

"Good. Then ya 'ave proof to show everyone ya done an honest day's work" he smoothly countered.

Erina-sama flushed and grumbled under her breath.

"It's okay Erina-sama you can take over my duties—"

"No. She stays in the back" said Hitsugaya-kun with such finality, turning his piercing eyes at her.

"But—"

"He's right Hishoko" spoke up Alice-sama, sipping her tea "Erina is pretty famous so we can't run the risk of somebody from the city who happens to be visiting finding out she's hiding out here. So she can't be seen from the shop during business hours"

Hisako sank back into her chair in defeat, placing her last chopstick full of rice in her mouth and chewed it slowly.

"Relax 'Ya Royal Highness', I've got gloves 'n' a face mask for ya" he rolled his eyes childishly. "Oh yeah… Arato will be in charge of the shop" said Hitsugaya-kun as an afterthought.

Hisako inhaled a blob of or rice and choked it back up. _WHAT!?_ The good-looking teen sighed and pulled her a piece of tissue from the box and handed it to her without a word. She took it and coughed into it. Alice-sama was giving her that knowing look again and she immediately diverted her eyes to her lap, hiding the blush blooming on her face behind the tissue. Once she recovered, she turned to Hitsugaya-kun who was sporting a very amused grin on her face. _Damn him and his handsome face!_

"Why me?" she asked.

"After Riza 'n' I, you're the resident expert" he chuckled.

The rosette-haired girl nodded and avoided all eye contact with him.

"Once y'all done eatin', get crackin'. Apothecary opens at eight 'n' expect a hoard of brats pickin' their noses at the front by then" He pushed himself away from the table with a loud screech and headed out towards the back.

"Wait a minute!" Hisako got up and ran after him but he kept walking out and stopped only until he was in the middle of the backroom, surrounded by boxes, and piles and piles of handmade aromatherapy soaps. The strong aroma hit her in the face, but she tried her best not to let it bother her.

"I-I wanted to say th-thank you…" she said shyly.

He cocked his head to the side and grinned "Ya already did"

Her stomach knotted pleasantly at his special nickname for her.

"No, not for that. Erina-sama… what you did for her last night was kind. I-I mean, you didn't have to do that, but you did anyway and she… came out better… because of you" said Hisako.

She looked up at him and his arrogant façade was instantly dropped to a solemn expression. His eyes stared back at her with a sharpness, it could cut her. She didn't understand this sudden change and it unnerved her, but she still felt compelled to place her hand on his cheek, but she resisted. He briefly looked down as he hooked his thumbs into the pockets of his work jeans and he leaned against a paper filled desk which was pressed up against the wall.

"Sneakin' 'round, were ya?"

"I wasn't spying! I just, went to find Erina-sama when she wasn't in her room and I found… the two of you" said Hisako.

He smirked at her. Then he turned serious. "It was nothin'" he simply said, looking back up to her.

"It _wasn't_ nothing" Hisako pressed on.

She stepped closer to Hitsugaya-san. This was the first time she was approaching closer to him, when it was usually him the one doing all the invading of personal spaces. She felt his beautiful emerald green eyes tracking her movements carefully. Hisako clearly knew Hitsugaya-kun's dislike for Erina-sama and everything she represented. So why?

"Just one question… why did you help her?" she whispered.

"Realise her own feelin's?"

He exhaled loudly and his nostril flared. He rubbed the back of his head as if he was working hard to explain to her in words she would understand. He avoided all eye contact with her.

"When she leaves this place she'll revert back to bein' the cold 'n' noble God's Tongue. The _'gift'_. Her dad, _the school 'n' the teachers_ will subdue her. They won't let her use her gift on her own free will. Eventually she's goin' to alienate all her classmates... She'll lose everyone. And if she ever manages to keep one friend who 'ave been puttin' up with all the crap which comes with her … _talents 'n' gifts…_ she'll be lucky… 'til she drives 'em away too"

She was momentarily puzzled until she realised.

'… _like what happened with you…'_

Hisako almost said that aloud, but luckily she didn't. Hitsugaya-kun's expression was so raw in that moment. It was unguarded and honest, almost vulnerable like Erina-sama but was cold. Hisako thought this was the first time she's ever seen Hitsugaya-kun's true and honest emotions. It was hypnotising and she couldn't tear her eyes away from this rare experience. She knew from before that Hitsugaya-kun's genius intellect in maths and sciences was scorned by everybody in his school to the point they tried to suffocate his amazing brain power, rather than help him harness it. His and Erina-sama's circumstances were very different, but they weren't too dissimilar... Then somehow he managed to save one friend, Riza-san, to still be there for him and put up with his jargon, arrogance, unpleasantness, mocking, belittling, cockiness, smart-arsery, obnoxiousness that came as unfortunate by-products of his profound and high-functioning aptitude for maths and science. But even then, how long could that friendship last? He only had Riza-san to be his friend and it looked like he already suspected that one day, he might be too much for her to handle and he would drive Riza-san away too. Then who would he have left?

 _No one._

The thought saddened Hisako greatly. Now that Erina-sama finally understood her feelings for Yukihira-kun, she was no longer in confusion and in turmoil. She would use him and her friendship with the Polar Star Dorm as her anchor to keep her grounded, safe from her Father's poisonous control. Her human bonds could save her. Her Father wouldn't be able to use her 'gift' as a tool to forge his twisted empire anymore, not with such a huge support. With a new resolve in herself, she would be able to salvage what little remains of her autonomy and strengthen it to use as a weapon of solidarity against her horrid Father. She could possibly be able to start something wonderful and new with Yukihira-kun. She would become stronger.

She would have a future filled with friends and support… A future that Hitsugaya-kun couldn't have.

Hisako eyes prickled.

' _He doesn't want Erina-sama to end up like himself…'_

"It's almost seven. Should get to work" said Hitsugaya-kun.

He rubbed his head and sighed in exasperation. He peeked from beneath his snowy-white fringe at her. Hisako quickly looked away and casually wiped the tears that began building in her eyes, making it look like that she was just rubbing them from getting up so early in the morning. The snowy-haired high school dropout smirked at her again, like there was nothing troubling him at all, nothing affecting him. A solid façade to hide his own inner pain. Hisako hated that smirk for another reason now. He pushed himself off and brushed past her and made his way out towards that shed he called his 'lab'. Hisako sighed and went off in the other direction, back to the kitchen area. Everyone had finished eating and was clearing the table. Hisako quickly volunteered to wash the dishes for Riza-san, while she was drying the crockery and chopsticks.

They had plenty of time before the school kids arrived.

"Do you guys do this every year?" asked Hisako, referring to school excursion they were expecting in the apothecary gardens. She always enjoyed chatting to Riza-san whenever she came to restock her herbs and spices. She didn't look like somebody who would abandon Hitsugaya-kun, right?

"Yep! Apparently the previous owner of the apothecary had school kids come in for class excursions all the time many years ago. When Daisuke-kun took over, the school asked him if it was okay to continue that tradition to fulfill that part of the class curriculum and he said yes. The kids always have such a good time in the greenhouse, his little outdoor lab and the tea garden, and the school is happy for them to come again with Daisuke-kun being their one-off special teacher" said Riza-san.

"So what's the curriculum?" asked Hisako.

"The school kids come to learn about agriculture and farming. Basically where their food comes from. They also learn about nature, plants, how to look after and harvest them, conserving the environment. I mean, this is just a home-grown apothecary and it's not as huge as a farm, but it gets the point across" Riza-san laughed.

"Hitsugaya-kun teaching children about farming? I can't imagine that. With the way he calls them brats, I'm surprised he would go through with this again" chuckled Hisako.

"Me too, but I never asked him why he decided to do it again this year in case it prompts him to change his mind. I am just happy he agreed to make it a yearly thing. It is a good thing for the children anyway"

Hisako nodded and shut off the tap and quickly dried off her hands. She could already hear Erina-sama taping bubble wrap around cakes of soap in the back room and Kurokiba-kun sweeping the creaking wooden floors in the actual shop. It was time for her to get to work too. She grabbed a work apron hanging on the peg and quickly strapped it around her and she tied up her hair. She strode out to the front, already seeing Alice reading over the pricing guide on a clipboard. Hisako went to the wall covered with apothecary drawers opened them one by one, making sure there was no sign of moisture or mould. The aroma wafted out whenever she opened them and she welcomed the lovely concoction of scents. It always amazed her that Hitsugaya-kun had such a vast range of herbs and spices. When she closed them, they made a small wooden _clack_ as the drawers shut tightly and it was an oddly satisfying sound. Once she made sure they were fully stocked and that they were at sell-able quality she got down from the roller ladder. As she expected, Hitsugaya-kun kept everything at a high standard.

An hour latter, high pitched laughter, giggling and screaming caught both Hisako and Alice-sama's attention as they instantly looked out the apothecary window. A gaggle of kids was running around chasing each other outside and a teacher was busy trying to wipe the nose of one of them.

"Awww, aren't they just adorable?" cooed Alice-sama.

Hisako nodded. There were only about twenty kids, which was not a lot at all. They looked like they were all under ten years old. They were scruffy looking and they didn't wear any school uniforms, only ordinary clothes which have seen better days, but they all had yellow coloured caps on. A lot of the boys were sporting band aids over any patch of bare skin and some of the girls had the same. Hisako remembered these kids were rural, they were nothing like the city kids with their pressed school uniforms, red bags and shiny black shoes.

As Hisako helped Kurokiba-kun set out packets of teas and salves on the turn stiles, she spotted from the corner of her eye Hitsugaya-kun and Riza-san emerging from the side of the building, probably from the side gate or something.

" _Alright class, settle down!"_ yelled the teacher. The kids took a good five minutes to stop chasing each other hold still for a bit, their excitement shining through their eyes and smiling faces as Riza-san beamed at them with the same amount of exuberance with her hands clasped behind her back. Meanwhile Hitsugaya-kun was smirking at them with his arms crossed over his chest. Even with children, he didn't smile properly.

" _Even though we are not in school, you must be on your best behaviour. Hitsugaya-san and Heiderich-san are very generous to take a day off from their busy schedule to teach you about farming, agriculture and plants for today in their apothecary. So make sure you pay attention and listen to them, follow all their instructions and learn. Alright?"_

" _Yes, sensei!"_ all the kids yelled together.

They really were adorable.

" _Ten of ya with me, the other ten with her"_ Hitsugaya-kun sliced his hands in the air, his arm hovering above the centre of the group and the kids automatically split themselves into two groups of ten. They bounced around like buzzing balls of energy.

" _My group! I'll be showin' you guys the greenhouse 'n' my lab, while Heiderich-san's group will be shown the tea garden 'n' learn how to make compost. Then we'll swap"_ he said.

He waved his hands and they followed him and Riza-san did the same as her group followed her in a different direction. Soon the two of their hosts disappeared off to the side with a small herd of children each with the teacher following close behind.

It was now twenty minutes past eight and their first customer of the day arrived with a bright chiming of the bell hanging about the door. Time to earn their keep.

* * *

"That wasn't too bad huh?" said Alice-sama.

"What are you talking about?! That last customers were all girls and they didn't even buy anything! _"_ screamed Hisako.

"Is that a problem~" she giggled.

"N-No… but they were a complete nuisance!" Hisako fumed again.

"With a guy as good looking as Hitsugaya-san, what did you expect? He must be the only heart-throb in town. The girls' would be damned if they didn't get their daily dose of him on their way home from school" said Alice-sama, skipping along with Kurokiba-kun to the door and turned over the sign to show everyone they were closing up. She wasn't being helpful in the least.

Hisako encountered girls at _Ryuusenka Apothecary_ from time to time whenever she came to buy her herbs and spices. One thing she had learnt about Hitsugaya-kun was that he was a huge flirt, right down to the core. He wasn't sleazy or gross or perverted or anything, he just liked to flirt around with girls. It was harmless and playful, nothing too serious but it annoyed her to no end whenever she stepped into the apothecary. She would be instantly assaulted by the shameless giggles of those girls, flocking around the counter, chatting with him in that high pitched voice they put on for show to make themselves sound all cute and demure. He would say something superficial and they would giggle. He would say something smart-arse that they wouldn't get and they would giggle anyway.

What was the point? Weren't geniuses supposed to be seeking to communicate with people who matched their intellect? Why would he be wasting his time with those dumb girls?! Hisako had never heard one clever thing leave their gloss-covered lips except incoherent gushing. All the same, he would paint on a charming grin on his handsome face as he spoke to the pretty, but superficial girls. She had wanted to smack them over the head and tell them to buzz of so she could place her order and actually buy something. Then she wanted to smack him over the head too for being such a tool in her presence. This only happened if she visited the apothecary in the late afternoon. That's why she tried her best to come around mornings or noons, so she didn't have to be put up with such a revolting sight. What was more, Hitsugaya-kun never hid his enjoyment in flirting with girls and that was probably the twist of the blade in her heart.

The only thing she was glad for was whenever she stepped into the apothecary with her little roller travel case, he instantly ceased his conversations and he only had eyes for her. He'd call her 'sweetheart' as always and she'd bristle and tell him to stop calling her that and he would chuckle in that silky voice of his. When she was there, he placed all his attention on her and suddenly those shallow girls faded into the background. She would feel triumphant as the girls realised they weren't getting that attention back from him and would stomp out the door and head home. That was the only joy she took from those occasions.

Hisako ditched Alice-sama and went to find Erina-sama in the backroom. She found her sitting on the chair with her face buried in her arms. Erina-sama had finished everything! All twenty purchase orders! She knew Erina-sama could handle anything thrown her way.

"Erina-sama, the day is over now" said Hisako, gently massaging her shoulders.

The Nakiri heiress groaned and her tense shoulders melted into mush under her fingers. She slowly lifted up her head and looked up at Hisako with exhaustion. She was wearing the safety mask that Hitsugaya-kun had supplied her with so she didn't pass out from the overwhelming aroma of hundreds of cakes of aromatherapy soap. She peeled herself away from the table and looked at her hands. They we still nice and soft since she used the gloves that were provided, but there was still that latex powder from the inside the glove lightly dusting her hands.

"I have some moisturiser for your hands Erina-sama, let me go get it for you" said Hisako on aide mode.

"Thanks Hisako" Erina took off her mask and padded over to the communal dining area and plonked herself onto the seat.

Hisako passed by Kurokiba-kun on the way out who was carrying a wooden box filled with vegetables and other grocery items. Hitsugaya-kun and Riza-san had their groceries delivered. It looked like Kurokiba-kun wanted to cook dinner again as he methodically picked and chose the and array of ingredients and placed them on the chopping board. Hisako diligently took off and rummaged through her bathroom supplies until she found the perfect hand cream for Erina-sama before dashing back down the stairs.

"Here you go. Your hands will be good as new again!" she said brightly.

Erina-sama nodded. Not a single complaint came from her as she squirted some of the cream onto her hands and rubbed them together until the powder disappeared and her hands were supple again. Where were Hitsugaya-san and Riza-san? Hisako took off her apron and released her rosette-coloured hair from her tight ponytail. That felt much better. She peered out into the garden and didn't spot a single strand of snowy-white hair or blonde regrowth at all. Maybe they were at the front of the store now. Hisako made her way back to the front of the shop and stepped outside the doors, letting it chime behind her. Riza-san was there but she was talking to the teacher. The kids were milling around holding little pot plants in their chubby arms. Their parents were congregated around them too, smiling and hugging them as they listened with rapt attention to the stories each of the child were regaling with so much enthusiasm.

She smiled and the cute scene. She turned around, ready to back inside, but she spotted that tuft of white hair from the corner of her eye. Hitsugaya-kun was standing off to the side, away from the parents and children silently observing them from the distance, partially hidden by the side of the shop. Why wasn't he joining them? Hisako made her way over to him.

"How did it go?" she asked, stopping next to him.

"Not bad. I did the same thing last year. Explained to 'em the basics of farmin'. Showed 'em the greenhouse, showed 'em how I cultivated the plants. Showed 'em my lab where I graft together plants 'n' showed 'em my soil terrarium system 'n' my experimental seedlin's. Then I showed 'em my irrigation system 'n' how it worked. Showed 'em the dehydrator 'n' botanical incubator. Riza showed 'em the tea garden 'n' then they went off to the mountains to look for mushrooms, 'n' made some compost. They came back 'n' potted their little tea sapplin's to take home"

He recounted his day like a boring laundry list with non-commital waves of his hand.

"That's a jam packed day. Did the kids have fun?" she asked.

"They didn't want to fuckin' leave, those annoyin' brats" scoffed Hitsugaya-kun.

Hisako shook her head, exasperation making her tut at him. If he didn't think she was also capable of back-handing someone's face with the truth, he had another thing coming!

"You know, you have all these farming techs hidden away and you're making all these serious breakthroughs in spice and herb cultivation and preservation. Why are you hiding yourself away here in this small country town? You don't have to just sell herbs and spices. You should be out there sharing all this with the world and making a name for yourself. I know you've had problems with people who don't understand you, but you can't let that hold you back anymore. Success is the best revenge right?! You've built your own lab in a shed that's fully furnished with everything you need for grafting plants and developing microbial soil. Come on! You're so smart it's amazing! You've created all these new farming and irrigation systems and algorithms for farming, _all by yourself_ and you should be proud of that. You have so much to offer… don't think your 'gift' is a curse because it's not. You've helped Erina-sama realise herself has a human, why can't you do the same for yourself? Dr Haruno could help you get into research under a professor, or at least present your ideas to think-tanks or something? You could connect with other scientists who share similar passions and brains, and contribute your amazing ideas to the scientific world. You have no idea if there might be anyone out there your age who is as smart as you or even _smarter"_

Hitsugaya-kun looked at her as if she was a crazy person. His eyes widened staring at her with big green eyes. It almost looked comical. Then he got over his initial shock and shifted his attention to the kids with a clenched jaw. Urgh! Did he even take in anything she said at all, or did he just shut down his ears and watch her lips move instead?! Why did he even like observing the kids so much? He clearly disliked them. Ah! He was so confusing! Hisako huffed and looked towards the school kids to see what could possibly hold his attention like a super-magnet.

She gave up when she couldn't find her answer.

"I just don't get it… _Why are you continuing to live like this?"_ she muttered.

Hitsugaya-kun's tanned face was blank as paper, as if nothing registered to him. The kids were clutching their pot plants in their dirty, chubby hands, shoving them in their parents faces. Hisako's fuse was close to blowing. She turned away from him because she knew if she continued to look at his _obscenely_ nonchalent expression, she was going smack him over the head.

" _Mummy look! I made my first plant today. Can I grow it in my room?"_

" _Ne ne! Hitsu-nii showed me all these cool machines in his lab! They look so amazing like those science stuff in the movies"_

" _I wanna be a farmer when I grow up and grow lots of food for everyone!"_

" _I want to be a pl-plant scientist when I g-grow up… like Hitsu-nii"_

" _No way silly! Girls can't become scientists!"_

" _Th-That's not true! H-Hitsu-nii said I can become anythin' I want when I g-grow up… even a scientist and learn science like him!_

" _I wanna make something that's really cool and that everybody will need. Like the stuff Hitsu-nii has! And I wanna make other cool science stuff that does lots of things like Hitsu-nii"_

 _"Hitsu-nii was showin' me how he can make plants grow any fruit he wants and even have different ones on the same tree! I wanna learn to do that!"_

" _I wanna explore the world and discover lots of plants and bring them back to Japan to grow. And I wanna use all those cool science stuff that Hitsu-nii has so that I can grow lots more for everybody!"_

Hitsugaya-kun turned his eyes away from the children and looked back at Hisako.

"That's why"

* * *

 _ **Day Seven  
**_

"Do you really have to go back now? I really love having you guys here" Riza-san bemoaned dramatically.

"Get a grip, ya need a license to keep exotic pets" Hitsugaya-kun rolled his eyes at Riza-san.

"Hey! We did what you asked and helped you out with your shop and revamped your herb garden. If I remembered correctly, you were asking for three helpings of the food _I made_ last night" Erina-sama stamped her foot and pointed her finger at him.

"Hmm... I hate ya less when ya still bein' all depressed 'bout the shit situation ya in" Hitsugaya-kun picked the dirt under her fingers.

 _"HEY!"_

Hisako inwardly chuckled at the memories of the past week. She wouldn't dare do it aloud in Erina-sama's presence. They have spent a week at _Ryuusenka Apothecary_ until Erina-sama decided she was ready to return home. She had made her decision that she wasn't going to let her Father control her anymore and that she would join Yukihira-kun's rebellion to overthrow Azami-dono and restore Senzaemon-dono to his rightful place. Just last night, Erina-sama had decided that she would cook dinner for everyone as her way of showing gratitude. She even made extra so that Hitsugaya-kun and Riza-san could freeze and store it for their future meals, saving their time cooking. They're gob-smacked faces were worth it. Erina-sama was so generous when she wanted to be! Erina-sama never offered anyone anything and when she did, it was something to behold and treasure for the rest of one's life. Oh what a grand-feast she made out of humble ingredients! Hitsugaya-kun was astounded and immediately shut his trap and Riza-san was practically bowing at her feet. They ate, and ate until there until not a drop of sauce was left on their plate, such as the power of the God's Tongue food.

Over the past week, while Hitsugaya-kun forced them all to work day after day and contribute to the running of the apothecary, Erina-sama had developed a back-bone. Not the fake one she had which was made from arrogance, prestige, conceit and nobility. But a back-bone gained from doing honest labour and hard work. Erina-sama become stronger not only physically (from being forced to weed the tea garden) but mentally as well. Hisako could sense the aura around her had changed and she couldn't feel more proud for Erina-sama than she did now.

Character-building.

She found inner compass as she overcame challenge after challenge in getting her hands and feet dirty from doing laborious gardening work. It proved to her that she could be more than a sheltered girl who could only handle a wealthy and clean lifestyle, and who could only throw her own weight around with the safety net of her family to back her up. But Erina-sama had learnt she was actually minuscule and so _tiny_ compared to the vast world around her. It made her sterner, realising that when it came to it, she had to actually fight her own way in the big, bad world (fight with Hitsugaya-kun who never hesitated to crush her if she pulled rank on him, that was) like the rest of the ordinary people. Hisako watched Erina-sama grow over the past week. She was capable of doing so much more than sitting pretty, tasting food and passing her judgement onto other people.

They've all learnt at Tootsuki where their food came from and they've been on field trips to see farms before as part of the Tootsuki curriculum. But never before had they actually _worked_ on any of them. On the apothecary greenhouse and gardens, they gave it their one-hundred and ten percent. Even though _Ryuusenka Apothecary's_ crop came from the greenhouse and the tea garden. All four students built a great sense of commitment as they tended to and harvested the crop they've been living with and selling for a week. Hisako vowed that she would eat every single piece of garnish on her plate, because that tiny piece of parsley or mint was the fruits of someone's labour.

Hisako thought one of the biggest things she learnt while working in the gardens and the apothecary front was Hitsugaya-kun himself.

He didn't seek fame like Hisako thought he should have done, and getting his research recognised. From watching him and talking to Riza-san, He only wanted to use it to better his business and inspire the young children to dream of a hi-tech world, this country town couldn't offer and become big themselves for their future. Hisako realised that him staying behind in this small country town, not stepping into the science scene, was a selfless act rather than a selfish one. He rather used his intelligence and his gift for a purpose greater than just for himself. Hisako couldn't even begin to comprehend how much more was there to this confounding, brash, sarcastic, vitriolic, rude, crude, witty and snappy bastard of a genius.

A genius who was unfairly treated in his life.

"OH! There's Byakko!" Alice-sama jumped up and down and waved at a plume of dust flying up in the distance.

Right on time, the old white car was making it's way on the beaten road towards them. Hisako pulled the handles up on her travel suitcase while Erina-sama did the same. Once the car stopped and the tall and silent Kuchiyose-san, their first and final driver, come out, Alice threw herself at him. Hisako felt a drop of sweat perspiring from her forehead. Really? Did Alice-sama really have to do that in front of them?

"Thanks again for everything, Hitsugaya-kun" She said shyly, turning towards him.

"One more thing"

Hisako blinked curiously. He took something out from the pockets of his blue hooded sweater. They were four envelopes. Hiskao looked on. He handed each of them out to the students, their faces puzzled by it. Hisako looked up at Riza-san who just nodded at them to open it with a big smile on her youthful face. So she did and her jaw instantly dropped.

 _"A cheque for thirty thousand yen?!"_

"Wh-What's the meaning of this?" Erina-sama stuttered.

"That's ya pay" said Hitsugaya-kun.

"Why are you paying us?" asked Alice-sama.

"For all the work ya'll done for me, ya trogladytes" he rolled his eyes "I gathered none of ya have ever actually earned money for ya-selves, except for Kurokiba. I ain't talkin' 'bout money ya make that goes straight to ya family's bank account, or gettin' allowances from 'em. I mean ya own money" said Hitsugaya-kun.

Hisako's hands shook as she gripped the cheque tightly between her fingers. He wasn't supposed to be paying them. They were the ones who asked for his favour, they should be the one paying him back. It was true that she did work for her family, but the money the customers paid for their meals never went to her own bank account, but actually the Arato Family account. From there, she received a monthly allowance, which was still controlled by the Arato Family. It was pretty much the same for the Nakiri cousins.

For them to be receiving an actual _pay cheque_ , it brought a foreign feeling within her.

"Please keep it you guys" Riza-san stepped forward "You do not owe us anything. We were happy to be of assistance. You have worked really hard and deserve it. Not to mention your food was soooooo goooooood" Riza-san dramatically pretended to drool.

 _"Empress"_

Erina-sama jolted at the named targeted towards her.

"Ya 'ave a responsibility now. A real one this time. Ya know what to do?"

"Hmmpphh! I don't need to be told twice. I'm not having any of _my_ students giving up on what Tootsuki stands for" the golden-haired Nakiri, threw her nose up, but there was a hint of a smirk playing on her lips.

The name 'Empress' sent Hisako back in time when Hitsgaya-kun first described Erina-sama as undeserving of the title 'Empress' in one of their first few meetings. Oh how angry and acrimonious she had been! Was he maybe acknowledging her potential to be a good one now? Hitsguaya chuckled but didn't say anything more as Erina-sama was harrumphing right and left, with her arms crossed defiantly and her nose still in their air.

"I don't wanna see ya'll runnin' here for refuge like this again. Otherwise, I'm gonna kick all ya asses back to Tootsuki" said Hitsugaya-kun.

"Do not listen to him! You are welcome back here anytime! Always know this is a safe place for you when you need it" Riza-san pushed past Hitsugaya-kun and threw her arms up in the air excitedly.

"Did I ever tell ya, that ya performance review is comin' up?" the snowy-haired teen sneered at his cheerful employee.

"Don't worry Hitsugaya-kun, we won't" Alice-sama winked at him. "But I, however, will definitely be back to visit your shed! I found some potential to use your research for my own molecular gastronomy cooking" Alice-sama fist pumped.

"It's a _lab!"_

"It's a _shed!"_

The apothecary owner groaned and rubbed his eyebrows together, but when he lifted up his head, he was grinning widely. After a lot of pestering from the playful Danish Nakiri, he finally gave in and showed her his lab and his research. They spent hours in there. Hisako wondered if Alice-sama was able to understand everything he explained to her. When they came back, her eyes were all starry and sparkly as if she was just in a candy shop and was diving into full blown discussions with him which he seemed to enjoy. Hisako had visited the lab before. It didn't have the latest equipment or anything, but it was still impressive to be part of a shed. She herself was also fascinated by the science behind that tin door.

"We have to go Mi'lady..." said Kurokiba-kun who loaded the last of their luggage.

Riza-san gave everybody a hug, the biggest one to Erina-sama and the poor girl was struggling to breathe. Finally when she was last, she hugged the older girl with everything she had. When Riza-san let go and was wiping a stray tear from her eyes, Hisako wanted to give her another hug, but Hitsugaya-kun intervened.

"There's somethin' else..." he shot a glance at her friends who were already making themselves comfortable in the car for the long journey back to Tootsuki. Riza-san was once again fussing over them trying to stretch their goodbyes even longer.

"Remember the conversation we had last night about Nakiri's mum's death?" he said quietly.

"A-Ah... yeah" said Hisako slowly, apprehension crept into her stomach.

Last night when everybody else went to bed, Hitsugaya had wanted more details surrounding how Azami-dono claimed the director's seat so easily and so Hisako pulled him outside to explain. She explained as best as she could to him, how Senzaemon-dono faked Erina-sama's mother's, his daughter's will to erase Azami-dono, her husband, from inheriting the title she was going to pass onto him after her death. Natsu-sama, Alice-sama's father was supposed to get the title, but he passed it onto his sister, Erina-sama's mother. Instead. When _she_ passed away from sudden illness, Senzaemon-dono retook the mantle. Azami-dono had come back with so much drama and flare to the school and threatened to take Senzaemon to court if he didn't willingly relinquish the directorship to him. As Azami-dono had damning evidence for Senzaemon-dono faking the Last Will and Testament, their director conceded to avoid legal scandal falling on the Nakiri Family's head. If he proceeded to go through all the court proceedings, he would've been convicted.

Isshiki-senpai had reported to Hisako that the he and Yukihira-kun started investigating Erina-sama's mother's early death. This came after the police arrested the information broker, who was temporarily working for Azami-dono. He had let slip a piece of information when Isshiki-senpai had passed by his detention cell, after visiting Eizan-senpai's. The information broker was due for court. Whatever the information broker told Isshiki-senpai, it alluded to the fact that Erina-sama's mother's early death wasn't as natural as they'd thought, but rather foul play might have been involved. How that information broker got his hands on such information in the first place, they did not know. Isshiki-senpai and Yukihira-kun with the help of Senzaemon-dono's remaining influence in the Nakiri household, dug up the coronor's report on Erina-sama's mother and also other doctor's report about her medical illness.

Sixteen years later, _now_ they felt something was fishy.

Isshiki-senpai had been the go between the police and Tootsuki ever since Eizan-senpai's arrest for insider trading using Tootsuki's funds and his private funds. According to the medical reports, Erina-sama's mother experienced a lot of pain in her last days.

Vomiting.

Intense nausea.

Weak body movements.

Rapid pulses.

Respiratory distress.

Incontinence.

Seizures.

Heart failure.

When the doctors were unable to figure out what was wrong with her, they couldn't treat her. Erina-sama's mother was dying and there was nothing they could do to help. The Nakiri family finally made the decision to take her back to the manor so that she could at least die in her own home. Her mother had already resigned to her fate.

This was nothing like what she and Erina-sama was told as children. They were only told Erina-sama's mother died of sickness. General and vague description, but it was enough for little girls not to ask questions. Hisako remembered feeling extremely sick as Isshiki-senpai relayed to her the symptoms Erina-sama's mother was experiencing sixteen years ago according to the report via phone, she felt like she wanted to throw up. And when she relayed it back to Hitsugaya-kun at his insistence she felt sick again. He had a glazed look over his eyes during that conversation, probably because he was processing everything a million miles per minute. After that he returned to his room with a curt good night.

"Take this too"

He pulled a plastic packet from his pocket and handed it to her. Hisako inspected it carefully. She didn't recognise the carroty-looking herb that was sitting inside it.

"What is it?"

 _"Dokuninjin"_

"EH?! _Hemlock?!_ "

 _Poison hemlock_ to be more specific. Hisako gasped at him. She was holding a bag of dried _poison_ hemlock in her hand. He had a very grim and serious expression as his eyes were half-lidded, looking back at her through his snowy white fringe. She stared at the brown, dried herb encased in the plastic like it was an alien. She'd heard of poison hemlock, but had never actually seen one in real life. It looked innocent enough, it could be mistaken for any weed or wild carrots to the untrained eye.

"Why are you giving this to me?" Hisako asked him desperately trying to make sense of this.

"The symptoms fit"

"What are you-"

 _"Her symptoms fit"_ Hitsugaya-kun hissed, almost agitated.

 _… Kami-sama  
_

 _… Oh dear Kami-sama…_

"N-No way… A-Azami-dono w-wouldn't…"

 _"Wouldn't he?"_

Horror befell her. Her chest tightened and her breathing stopped as she realised the implications Hitsugaya-kun was unloading onto her. Just from hearing those symptoms, he deduced that there was more to Erina-sama's mother's death? Her mind went to overdrive. She didn't know what to think. All this time she'd thought it was just an illness that her family had told her. Nobody else suspected anything?

"Somethin' didn't feel right so I did a bit of research after ya went to sleep. Hemlock poisonin' in humans causes that exact combination of symptoms ya _senpai_ told ya, 'n' hemlock poisonin' in humans is incredibly rare in Japan. There's only a few documented cases. The doctor's wouldn't even have _thought_ to add it to the tox-screen on her so they'd never 'ave found out. And even if they did, the treatment itself is rigorous 'n' a hit 'n' miss. It can be fatal if it ain't administered correctly. Nakiri's mum never woulda stand a chance"

Hisako felt completely numb.

"It was a _perfect_ plan. Do ya… understand?"

Hisako snapped as soon as Hitsugaya-kun said _'perfect plan'._ Take it from him to _admire_ the ingenuity of it all! She frantically shook her head, stepping away from Hitsugaya-kun. She briefly registered a flash of hurt in his brilliant emerald eyes, but it died fast. That was such a long shot! How could he have come up with this wild conclusion! _Impossible!_ If this was another trick of his, she would never forgive him. Not in a million years. But the way he was looking at her so earnestly… silently begging her to believe him… saying all these things about hemlock poisoning regarding Erina-sama's mother's death with all the seriousness in the world. She wished this wasn't true, she wished she didn't believe him so whole heartedly because if there was one thing she did trust deep down in her heart, it was that the Hitsugaya Daisuke she knew, despite his sour personality, would _never_ be cruel in his words. Not to her. Hisako slapped her free hand to muffle a scream as her eyes stang with tears. Overwhelming fear seized her as the horrific sinisterness underpinning the situation they were all stuck in surged to the surface like bubbling blood oozing from the cracks in the grounds they were precariously standing on.

"I-If Azami-dono had _p-poisoned_ Erina-sama's mother… then that would force her to write her L-Last Will and Testament… t-to put him as the successor to the t-title as Director of Tootsuki… _H-He knew she would_ _…!_ "

This whole thing. The whole reason why Tootsuki was in such a disastrous mess right now was because of…

 _Murder._

Suddenly the apothecary owner firmly placed his hands on her shoulder, snapping her out of it.

" _Sweetheart,_ listen to me carefully. Poison hemlock ain't grown in Japan. It's illegal and ya can only get 'em dried from the black-markets. Okay?" he nodded towards the packet of poison hemlock in her hand.

 _"Then why do you have this!?"_ Hisako hissed at him through her frantic tears, shoving the packet into her pockets harshly before her friends in the car could see it.

"…I knew a guy. We had vandals two years ago 'n' gave some to me for protection. Hemlock plus smoke makes a great deterrent" he said.

Hisako screwed her eyes shut, trying not to let the tears escape. This was too much for her. She didn't know if she could handle such information being dumped on her!

"Get ya _senpai_ or someone to start tracin' different black-market herbalists in Japan 'n' find the ones that had ever imported 'n' sold poison hemlock at least sixteen years ago"

 _"What if you're wrong"_ said Hisako.

Hitsugaya-kun smiled bitterly at her as he lifted a finger to wipe the drop of tear already sliding down her cheek, tenderly caressing her cheeks at the same time.

"For the first time in my life, I wish I'm wrong. But knowin' myself… I don't think there's a genie who's gonna grant that for me"

Hisako released a mirthless laughter and all her tears escaped. He was right. He was cursed to be smart and right all the time wasn't he? She hoped this was all just a passing nightmare and they've all wake up to a normal Tootsuki day with no Azami-dono, no Last Will and Testament, and not poison hemlocks. But that hope was futile. Their goodbye at the end of a week's stay wasn't supposed to end like this. _That_ was the cruel part. But there wasn't any point in being terrorised over this. She had to be strong for Erina-sama's sake. Hitsugaya-kun trusted her to believe him. Not Alice-sama, not Kurokiba-kun and definitely no Erina-sama. The boy who couldn't be understood trusted _her._ He didn't sound panicked in the slightest over this murder which looked too impossible to solve. How were they going to convince the police to help them with something that wasn't even a cold case?! But Hisako forced herself to think laterally. The way Hitsugaya-kun did. Underneath all this meant there was a way to overthrow Nakiri Azami and send him packing to prison with nothing but his worthless self, no matter how slim it was.

They had to take that chance, for Tootsuki's sake.

 _"Thank you"_

 _"Anythin' for ya, sweetheart"_

Hisako leaned forward and surprised herself by engulfing him in a hug. She inhaled his chrysanthemum scent and dirt, and his soft hair tickled her nose. She felt him lift his arms up and gently wrapped them around her too, rubbing her back slowly. She stayed like that for a moment as she concentrated on the warmth he exuded, the feel of his form and the toned muscles from his hard work in his apothecary.

She released him.

He smiled at her. A _real smile._

"See you soon" she said with a smile of her own.

"Yeah"

She wiped the remaining tears with the back of her blazer sleeves and went back to the car and got in. She clipped the seatbelt around her and waved to Hitsugaya-kun and Riza-san as Kuchiyose-san reversed out of the front area of the shop and made it's way out of town. She faked her smile, assuring Erina-sama that nothing was wrong, playing it off that she was just going to miss Riza-san's hospitality. They left _Ryuusenka Apothecary_ behind, ready to face the new threat befallen on Tootsuki and the dark pit that was slowly consuming everyone. Hisako gripped the packet of poison hemlock in her blazer pocket.

Whether or not he really murdered Erina-sama's mother…

… Nakiri Azami was going down.

* * *

 **We get a snapshot of Daisuke's tiny beating heart and** **we know a bit more about Riza Heiderich! Just to be clear, I don't endorse smoking, marijuana or abusing nicotine patches. These afflictions are there to add to Daisuke's character.**

 **I was interested in seeing Erina's and Daisuke's interaction, so I had a go writing it. Those two would clash horribly but I tried to twist that around. I hope Erina had grown in this chapter. I've given into the Souma/Erina pairing and I've hidden it in a Hisako/OC story. Stake me...**

 **For reader's recap: The mention of Doctor Haruno Sakura, The Elite Ten Reshuffle Competition, Senzaemon's scandale, Erina mum's deceased mum, and Azami's return are part of the major subplot of A Touch of Saffron.**

 **IMPORTANT: For readers of  A Touch of Saffron, I suggest you continue it until Chapter 42 'Dancing With the Devil' before moving onto Chapter 3 of Medica Materia, as it will contain spoilers from A Touch of Saffron which ties into the story. If you're not a reader of A Touch of Saffron, worry not! I still summarised the relevant points into the next chapter (hence the spoiler for others) for you to still enjoy.**

 **Thanks for reading! Until next time, I'll see you again in Chapter 36 of A Touch of Saffron :)**

 **Signing off**

 **\- TripWire-dono**


	3. Chrysanthemum Morifolium

**What up guys! It's been a while since I've updated this ficlet here.**

 **If you've come straight from Chapter 42 'Dancing with the Devil' of 'A Touch a Saffron', then you're in the right place because this is where the story digs deeper into the mystery surrounding Erina's mum's murder. If you're not familiar, worry not! ****I've summarised the relevant points from 'A Touch of Saffron' blended it into the chapter so the transition should be seamless.**

 **I'm amazed by your positivity towards this story and I can't tell you enough how much that means to me :) As you know, I tend to write very long chapters. That's because I don't update as often anymore. It can be months at a time so I want to make sure you readers get the most out of it after long periods of silences, hence I give you 10k+ chapters to make up for it :)**

 **...But sad news... T** **his is the FINAL chapter of 'Medical Materia' _._**

 **So anyway, I hope you lovely readers will enjoy your stay in _Ryuusenka Apothecary!_**

* * *

 _Chapter 3 - Chrysanthemum Morifolium_

* * *

 _CHOOOO! CHOOOO!_

Hisako alighted the station platform with her roller travel case in tow. The deep whistling of the train blared as it chugged down the tracks back to the city. She brushed her rosette locks from her face. She opted for wearing casual clothes instead of her school uniform, which was a lot more comfortable. The foliage had been clothed in summer green the last time she was here with Erina-sama, Alice-sama and Kurokiba-kun. Instead now she was greeted by a collage of earthen browns, amber and gold. A single golden leaf pirouetted down an invisible spiral of breeze, spinning through the air as it let itself be carried down. It shook slightly, as if it could have been whisked away any second by the grip of an icy wind, but it kept floating down the twirling course. It blew past Hisako's face and landed lightly on the ground, the shiny, vibrant colour standing out against the ambers and bronzes beneath it. It was so delicate, she wanted to reach down and pick it up and hold it close to her heart, smoothing out any creases, but something told her that it belonged there, this corpse of what was once summer.

"Didn't think I'd be back so soon" Hisako murmured.

She trotted down the winding dirt path towards the little country town. She inhaled the crisp country air and exhaled through her nose, drinking in as much nature as possible. She switched to autopilot, trusting her legs to take her to the right destination independently, allowing her to mull over her thoughts.

She wished she didn't need to visit Hitsugaya-kun and Riza-san under such circumstances. Isshiki-senpai had called a meeting less than a week ago and updated everyone on all the evidence they had discovered in Lady Nadeshiko's sealed room. Isshiki-senpai delivered the results of the forensic chemist report courtesy of the retired Professor Hayama with the same professionalism as Doujima-san did in meetings. Hisako made sure that she sat right by Erina-sama to lend her the necessary support because hearing that her mother was murdered by her father, with solid proof to indicate this, was soul-breaking. However her noble charge held herself together with utmost poise and grace. It made Hisako proud.

So far the Rebel Alliance evidences for the suspect, the murder weapon, the motive, the opportunity… except _the means_.

They didn't have an explanation for Azami-dono's _ability_ to carry out the murder, in other words, how he got his hands on poison hemlock in the first place. Isshiki-senpai had done some more investigation of his own and discovered that there were three known places that dealt in black market poisonous plants. Two of the underground shops were no longer in existence and only one was still left standing. As soon as the last name rolled from Isshiki-senpai's lips, Hisako could barely contain the thought…

 ** _Ryuusenka Apothecary_**

At this point, the wheels of her roller travel suitcase hit pavement.

Hisako had entered the town. She looked up at the noise of life and people as they went about their business. Soft chattering, bicycle bell ringing, birds chirping, and dogs barking. The gorgeous backdrop of the distant mountains were cloaked in the noble colours and Autumn, making the place even more magical. Yep. Definitely like a Miyazaki movie. She allowed herself a smile and felt her cheeks were a little tight. She hadn't done a lot of smiling lately and she probably needed to break it in again. She adjusted her grip on her roller suitcase and made her away towards _Ryuusenka Apothecary._ As she winded through differently lanes, the steep hills of the town casted a shadow across her form. The closer she got to the little lane where the apothecary was, her heart began to stutter. Darkness encroached her mind like a disease causing her breath to constrict.

' _What if… What if Hitsugaya-kun knew his apothecary used to be illegal?_ _What if… What if Hitsugaya-kun knew his apothecary was the same one Azami-dono had dealt with but didn't want to tell her?'_

Her legs ceased to move altogether and her knuckles tightened on the handle of her roller travel case more than it should. She reached up and clutched her chest. Her thoughts muddled together.

' _What if… What if that was the reason why he gave her a sample poison hemlock in the first place… because he KNEW'_

Hisako smacked herself in the forehead. No! That was absolutely ridiculous! Hitsugaya-san wouldn't know such a thing as that. If he knew, he would've told her right? He wouldn't keep something like this from them. Hitsugaya-kun must have studied poisonous plants himself so that he could provide advice on how to identify them, how to avoid them and even their properties to customers who were ignorant on plants, herbs and spices. The rosette-haired student calmed down and felt her pulse slow back down to normal pace. The insufferable but oddly caring apothecary owner might be a genius of his time, but he wasn't cruel enough to keep such secrets when this meant so much to her and her school. Hisako trusted him and his smug face. She trusted his intellect and sharp wit no matter how much it irritated her. He was her…

'… _friend?'_

Hisako was sort of elated and at the same time crestfallen at the term. Her heart twisted ever so slightly. She came to _Ryuusenka Apothecary_ almost every month on the dot to restock her herbs and spices. They were familiar with each other. Hitsugaya-kun would give her that smirk and call her 'sweetheart'. He always came _around_ the counter to greet her and not just stand behind it. He would poke fun at her in a teasing way, never in a mean way, but she would threaten to hit him nonetheless. Or he would regale about a breakthrough in his experiments and make it a point to dumb down the words for her. She would threaten to hit him again. Or he would tell her about some new contract he made with another business. Then she would fit in a cheap shot and call his lab a _shed_ just to rain on his parade. Their conversations always started off as banter before it could melt into calm and collected musings with each other. Or just stay as banter whenever the mood struck. Even a month ago, Hitsugaya-kun agreed to house herself and her friends as fugitives to get some much needed distance for Erina-sama from her father. It was a very late notice and desperate ask which must've inconvenienced him, but he let them stay as long as they needed anyway. Pure colleagues or business clients wouldn't offer their homes like that, would they? So that meant they were friends.

Hisako secretly hoped Hitsugaya-kun cared for her as _more_ than a friend.

The sign she was looking for gleamed above her. Hisako pushed open the door and the tinkling ring was music to her ears.

"Hello Riza-san"

No matter what anybody said, _Ryuusenka Apothecary_ would always be her safe place.

Whenever she was stressed at Tootsuki, all she needed to do was imagine herself back at the apothecary. She would imagine being surrounded by tall wooden shelves filled with rows and rows of yellowing apothecary display jars filled with an exotic myriad of Western and Eastern herbs. The stimulating fragrances would calm her and she would enjoy the sounds of quiet country life leaking through the doors. Hitsgugaya-kun and Riza-san would go about their daily tasks in the background and she would just stand by and watch. It filled the heart with warmth, it was homey, it was welcoming.

She could imagine herself in Hitsugaya-kun's greenhouse. Aromatic leaves, air scented by blossoms, tiny green leaves of the thyme, rosemary with dark green leaves and white central stripe growing on woody stems. _H_ _anahakka_ with its sweet pungent smell, _nihonhakka_ in its clay pot reaching for the sun. She would witness _ni_ _ra_ growing like grass with their round purple flowers on tall stems and Thai basil waving gaily in the breeze right next to the garlic to keep the aphids at bay. Combined together what music they made, each Western and Eastern dish an orchestra of flavour.

"Oh Arato-san! Welcome, welcome"

Riza-san was all smiles as usual. There was no way that she was twenty-six years old. The half-Chinese half-German girl scaled down the ladder and wiped her hands on her work apron before greeting Hisako with an exhuberant handshake. Her honey-brown eyes glittered with mirth and she flicked her head to the side to sweep her fringe out of her eyes. Her dimples were deeper, Hisako noticed as she continued to beam. It was infectious and it made Hisako smile too. Riza-san was so sweet, friendly and dependable. She knew how to talk to people and made them feel good.

"It's good to see you looking well, Riza-san. The trees are beautiful outside, aren't they" said Hisako.

"Oh yes! I love the Autumn in Japan. Does it get like this in Tokyo too?" asked Riza-san. She led Hisako out of the way of the door, closer towards the counter.

"Yeah, but it's not as beautiful as Autumn in the country"

Riza-san also had a peculiar brand of Japanese. Her mastery of the language was excellent, and always spoke properly and with proper syntax and grammar. She supposed as a _gaijin_ , who'd been living in Japan for a long time, that was one of the advantages. She had more _awareness_ of how she used the language because it wasn't natural to her. Native speakers of their language would speak it without thinking about it, or of its intricacies. Therefore when faced with explaining why incorrect language use was incorrect, or why correct language use was correct, the average native speaker would find it hard to do so. It was the case of implicit learning versus explicit learning at times. Hisako was sure Riza-san could tackle 'poetic' Japanese if given the chance.

Hisako dug her hand into her pocket and pulled out a folded piece of paper with the herbs she wanted to purchase today. It wasn't as much as compared to last time, but it wasn't the most important reason of why she was here. She passed it to Riza-san and she immediately got to work.

"So um… Is Hitsugaya-kun… around? I have to talk to him about something important" Hisako didn't know why she was nervous to ask.

"Is it about your school?"

"Uh…Yes, actually"

"He is upstairs. He should be finished showering by now. He was digging in the tea garden this morning. He has finished nurturing a young Indian Assam tea sappling in the botanical-incubator last week so we are planting it in the tea garden now. It is the only time he _ever_ takes off his dratted hoodie!" said Riza-san.

Hisako's brain went blank at the thought of Hitsugaya-kun without his hooded jumper. He was _always_ in a hoodie. No other style of clothing. He had a myriad of coloured hooded jumpers and each time she visited the apothecary, it was just a different colour. Also he only wore jeans. So essentially, his body was entirely covered unlike Riza who wore tank-tops and cargo-shorts most of the time. So if he wasn't wearing a hoodie today because he was working in the garden under the sun, then what was he wearing instead? T-shirt? Singlet? Or maybe…

 _Topless?_

Hisako malfunctioned and her face was very hot. Oh dear _Kami-sama_ … now she couldn't get a topless Hitsugaya Daisuke out of her head! She imagined him leaning his forearms against the handle of his shovel which was stabbed into the dirt. She knew he was capable of hard labour when he needed to be because he had redone the garden himself when he started his apothecary business. She imagined his wild silvery locks plastered back against his scalp from sweat. His intense jade green eyes would be hooded and squinting from the perspiration dripping from his brow. He would be panting as he rested before continuing to dig. His handsome mouth would curl into a smirk as he looked off into the distant mountains and he would thumb away some stray dirt from the corner of his beautiful lips.

She imagined he would smell like the Earth and his usual chrysanthemum scent mixed together to create a delicious musk unique only to him. His skin would be tanned like his face and the sun would make his sweat-slicked skin shine like the seat at sunset. Hitsugaya-kun was shapeless under the hooded jumpers, but his body must have lean and well-defined muscles from toiling in his garden. She could see the sharp dips and crevices of his abdominal muscles, revealing a six-pack and the ones outlining his pectorals as they tensed and flex from digging.

His biceps would tense and bulge slightly as he would pull out the shovel form the dirt and _pounded_ it back into the ground. He would stamp against the blade to _thrust_ it deeper into the earth. She could just hear him _grunting_ from exertion with his husky voice as he lifted the soil and threw it to the side. Rinse and repeat as he thoroughly _slammed_ the shovel back into the soil until he was completely spent. She could clearly see the beads of sweat rolling along his scorched skin, winding its way down his stomach until it dipped just below the waistband of hi—"

"— Hello? Arato-san, are you alright?"

Hisako careened back to reality.

"Huh? O-Oh… uh… M-My apologies, what was i-it… you were saying?" Hisako surreptitiously pinched herself to wake up. Ouch! yes, she was sane again. It only occurred to her that she held her breath for ages once she found her voice. She instantly stamped down her inappropriate imaginations into the abyss, but it kept springing up like a sexy prairie dog. She couldn't believe she was having fantasies about Hitsugaya-kun!

' _Kami-sama… out of all the times for me to space out…!'_

"I said you can go right on up" said Riza-san, pointing towards the ceiling.

"Oh! Oh um… right. N-No, maybe I should wait for him… downstairs…" Hisako stammered. She was flustered and gaped like a fish out of water as she wrung her hands, not knowing where to put them without looking tremendously awkward.

"No, do not be silly! Of course you can go upstairs. He will not mind. Besides, he is unlikely to come downstairs for a while anyway"

Riza-san came around and began pushing Hisako towards the back. The huge smile still on her face. Hisako stumbled, finding no way to bypass Riza-san as she already stepped onto the first step. She sighed and gave in. She should just get it over and done with before she shut down like an idiot in front of Hitsugaya-san. Riza vanished around the corner, probably back to her duties at the front of the shop. Hisako took a solid deep breath and steeled herself. She was an Arato, aide to Nakiri Erina. She wasn't going to let anything derail her and make her lose composure! The Tootsuki student left her travel case at the bottom of the landing and crept upstairs, being careful not to step on the creaky parts. Her hands slid up the banister in the familiar motions. Once she made it to the top landing everything was quiet. She knew which end of the hall was Hitsugaya-kun's room so she slowly made her way there. Her feet pattered quietly, however her heart didn't. It was beating so hard it could catapult out.

His door was slightly open. Before she could stop herself, she craned her neck forward. She caught a glimpse of Hitsugaya-kun.

She didn't need to imagine him topless anymore.

The real, non-imaginary apothecary owner was standing in his room holding an aqua hoodie in his hand. His hair was ruffled and glistened with droplets of water as he had just finished showering like Riza-san had said. It made his silky locks flop against his head and the side of his face like icicles. She couldn't see his face clearly, but his body was… _striking_. It was just like she had imagined only better because it was _real_. The rest of his skin was tanned, leading her to believe that was just his natural skin tone. It made him more masculine than what the baby-fat on his face suggested. She felt like a peeping tom, but she couldn't stop. His body was slim. The muscles of his chest, biceps and back were filled out, but not too much from his laborious work in the garden just as she had imagined. Where his abdominal muscles were, was also a distinct 'V' shape gracing his pelvis dipping low. He was currently only clad in jeans, which rode low on his hips.

She quickly covered her mouth to stop her gasp escaping, giving away her position.

She _certainly_ didn't expect what she saw next.

A _huge starburst scar_.

It was located on his entire left side. Hitsugaya-kun had turned around slightly to reveal his horrible physical affliction. The huge scar reached from his hip all the way to his armpit. It must have been very old from the way it blended and marred his skin horribly, twisting the flesh like there were silvery snakes under his skin. The edges struck out like a spider's web. The colour was as if somebody tried to bleach it into milkiness. It was also as if the angry wound was so messy that somebody had no choice but to cauterise it, melting the skin together. The intimidating cicatrices didn't allow Hitsugaya-kun enough range of motion to move his body, as he stiffly twisted and turned as far as his horrible scar could stretch without tearing, which was not much. Hisako her own left side ache from looking at it.

' _What on earth had happened to him?!'_

Then Hitsugaya-kun slipped on his hoodie. His muscled body as well as his scar disappeared from view.

Hisako quietly ducked to the side, backing away from the gap at the door. Her heart hammered in her chest. She had invaded his privacy. She knew she had and she admonished herself for that! It was now clear and obvious that he only wore long-sleeved hoodies so nobody would ever see his scar, even accidentally. People would definitely cringe and wince, or avoid looking at something as _unnatural_ as that. She suddenly felt sad and her eyes started to prickle, that Hitsugaya-kun had chosen the path of hiding it. All Hisako was concerned was how he sustained such a horrible wound to leave an angry mark on his body. She wanted to reach out and lingered her fingertips over it, to find out why it invaded Hitsugaya-kun's body, and restore his skin to what it once was.

Quiet shuffling in the bedroom awoke her from her turbid thoughts. He was moving closer to the door. She had to do something quickly.

"Hitsugaya-kun are you there!" she suddenly piped up.

Almost immediately, the door was roughly yanked open and she held her breath. The quick movement of the air caused her fringe to blow away from her face. Her eyes brows were glued up high in fright as Hitsgugaya-kun's face stuck out. He stared at her with wide green eyes. She hadn't realised it until now, but Hisako had longed to see his face. She hadn't realised how much she missed seeing his boyishly handsome face until it was right in front of her. The smell of his shampoo and conditioner from his freshly washed hair wafted to her and it smelt heavenly, making her want to sigh. His thin lips were poised open in surprise, his nostrils flared from deep breathing, and his sharp hawk-like eyes scanned her face aggressively.

"How long were ya out 'ere?"

"Wh-What?" Hisako gulped thickly at the sound of his silky and husky voice.

" _How long were ya out 'ere?"_

There was a flicker of apprehension and was that… panic?... in his eyes. His brows knitted together as he continued to scrutinise her. His lips clamped shut into a thin line. His face was a bit different. He took on a gaunter look, but not enough to make him skeletal. Hisako wondered if he was feeling and eating well. The muscles in his neck tensed up until she could see the tendons slightly bulge. Something was simmering in him from the way his hand would involuntarily twitch as he gripped the door knob.

"Uh… No, I-I just came up…" Hisako lied.

Hitsugaya-kun continued to stare, almost _glared_ at her.

"I see. Did ya need somethin'?"

He looked hesitant and his words were sort of clipped. His hand on the door knob wasn't twitching anymore, but the heel of his right foot was starting to tap.

"Yes actually… It's about the trouble we're having at school. You were absolutely right. It was indeed hemlock poisoning that killed Erina-sama's mother. The tests from an independent lab were conclusive. I wanted to umm… discuss that with you" said Hisako keeping her voice leveled.

"Ah, alright then. Come in"

Hitsugaya shifted out of the way and pushed his door open wider. _Come into his room?!_ Hisako to a nervous step inside. The last time she was sort of in his room, he crept up behind her and cracked a joke at her expense about being inside without his permission. But there weren't any jokes or teasing remarks this time and that made her feel weird. Not even a smart-arse greeting. Hitsugaya-kun sounded a bit… off… and she couldn't quite find the word to describe it, or put her finger on it. She chalked it down to him feeling tired after digging in the tea garden. The snowy-haired teen waved his hand nonchalantly towards his bed for her to sit on. The sheets were crumpled but Hisako immediately obeyed and tried to find a small spot that wasn't messed up. She folded her hands on her lap and nervously pulled at a hangnail. He plonked himself into his wheelie chair which was by his study table. He leaned back and propped one of his elbow on the arm-rest. The room looked pretty much the same as the last time she'd seen. Messy and full of papers.

His sharp jade-green eyes caught hers and he pinned her with the same hooded eyes that made her knees weak

"…"

"…"

"…"

"So are ya gonna talk, or do I hafta get over there 'n' pry it outta ya?" he bit out.

Hisako blushed and cleared her throat trying to fight down the rising heat in her cheeks. He wasn't sick if he still found energy to be rude!

"Well" Hisako refused to show he ruffled her feathers "We found out that there were three black-market shops in Japan that was running more than ten years ago. One place was seized by police twenty years ago, and another burnt down to the ground with nothing left. And the only one left still in existence is…"

She hesitated.

He narrowed his eyes in slits.

"It's _here_ ain't it?"

Hisako released her breath and nodded. _"Ryuusenka Apothecary_ sixteen years ago used to sell all sorts of poisonous plants which was well-known in the underground community. The front was a chemist or a pharmacy. But then it closed down ten years later after the owner mysteriously disappeared. The police couldn't find him. And then—"

"Four years later, my parents came along 'n' bought the place for me. I re-did it 'n' re-opened it under a brand new name of my own choosing as a normal apothecary business" Hitsugaya-kun continued it for her.

He sighed and flung his head back as he rubbed his forehead. His leg jigged up and down. The whole time Hisako was talking, his eyes glazed over and was looking at nothing in particular. Every now and again he would twitch. Hitsugaya-kun reached over and grabbed a bag of gummy lollies that was sitting on his desk like his life depended on it. He grabbed a handful and shoved it into his mouth. Hisako raised an eyebrow at another one of his odd behaviour. He did _realise_ that each gummy lolly was a _different_ flavour, did he? He didn't display any signs of revulsion from the mish-mash of incompatible flavours in his mouth as he did the same thing again.

"Well that's news to me" said Hitsugaya-kun after swallowing.

"You _didn't_ know?"

"Nope. But I have a feelin' my ol' man knew all 'bout it 'n' never bothered to tell me" he said casually at the same time rolling his eyes. "I did think it was suss the place was abandoned, but ya know, I let it go 'n' stopped carin' 'bout that. The locals said this place used to be called _Goshinboku Pharmacy_ 'n' the guy who ran it was named Onigumo or somethin'. They said he was alright. He interacted well with the kids, got along with everyone. Helped ol' people 'n' stuff. They never suspected 'im of anythin' shifty"

"So… you don't think there's anything here that might prove Azami-dono bought poison hemlock from this place…?" said Hisako sadly.

"I didn't say that" said Hitsugaya-kun.

He wasn't looking at her anymore and seemed to be focusing intently on a crack in the wall. He shoved another handful of lollies in his mouth and chewed in thought as he squinted and tilted his head at it. Hisako looked too, but there wasn't unusual about it. The crack in the plaster was _barely_ there.

"Come, I'll show ya"

Hitsugaya-kun jumped up from his chair. He was suddenly full of energy which took Hisako aback. His attention seemed to whiplash back and forth which Hisako couldn't keep up with. His chair was pushed back recklessly as it crashed into the side of the wall. Hisako winced at the noise and knitted her brows in confusion. What had gotten into him and where was he taking her? Hitsugaya-kun took two strides to his door and flung it open. He had taken the bag of lollies with him too and stuck it into the front pocket of his hoodie. Hisako bounced off her bed and had to jog after him as his feet creaked noisily against the wooden landing. She wished that he could at least wait for her! Hitsugaya-kun jogged down the stairs and jumped the last two before disappearing around the corner. Hisako huffed and puffed, her legs already aching trying to keep up with him.

' _Eh? Where did he go?'_

Hisako stood next to her travel case which was still at the bottom of the. She was more confused by the second. Hitsugaya-kun was nowhere in sight.

" _Don't lag behind, sweetheart"_

"WAHH!"

Hisako's shrieked and her hair stood up on end. Against her wishes, her heart leapt. The way the term of endearment rolled off his tongue to silkily sounded almost mocking and full of arrogance.

 _"Well?"_

She shivered violently from the second sudden breath of hot air grazing the shell of her ear. Her pulse bungee-jumped off a hundred metre cliff and bounced right back up before skydiving down again. The sheer _closeness_ of Hitsugaya-kun's body behind her sent tingle up and down her spine. His warmth permeated her own clothes. She was frozen on the spot but curiosity got the better of her. She chanced a nervous look over her shoulder and almost fainted from his face invading her personal space. His mischievous jade green eyes laughed at her and his thin lips curled up into a cheeky green. She nervously licked her drying lips and the apothecary owner's sharp eyes momentarily dived down as she did so before flitting back up into her own magenta ones again. And he called her _'sweetheart'_ again _,_ creating a snow flurry of emotions to wreak havoc in her heart.

"This way" he said lowly.

Hisako almost groaned.

He turned away and walked over to a different section of the back of the apothecary. He stopped towards a closet door. He flicked the latch and opened it. He reached inside and pulled a cord. Hisako peeked from behind him to see what's inside, but all she saw was a single light-bulb hanging from the ceiling and the cord he had just pulled to bestow yellow light in the space.

It was a basement.

Hitsugaya-kun bowed his head, dodging a strand of spider's silk as he descended the ancient wooden steps. She had no idea they had a basement, even when she had spent a week here with Erina-sama, Alice-sama and Kurokiba-kun. Hisako crept forward and peeked her head in but didn't dare to step in. It smelt old and musty like an antique store, but only dirty. Hitsugaya-kun was halfway down the creaking stairs and then flicked another switch. The basement flickered to life as a set of rectangular fluoride lights managed to turn on. The basement was chock-o-block full of junk!

Hitsugaya-kun raised his hand towards Hisako and looked at her expectantly. Hisako was suddenly mesmerised by his hand. His calloused palms faced up, and his fingernails were neatly cut short. he was holding it up to her?

"I 'aven't got all day" he snapped.

A small 'eep' escaped her lips and she leapt into action. She hurriedly grabbed his proffered hand without a second thought in case he snapped at her again for dilly-dallying. She shakily placed one foot in front of the other being careful to pay attention to where she was stepping. He wooden steps moaned much more loudly compared to upstairs. Hitsugaya held her hands firmly, carefully guiding her to where he was standing. His skin was as warm as the first time they had shook hands. It was also slightly rough against her smoother skin. Once Hisako planted her foot firmly on cement ground she sighed. The smell was stronger now and it tickled her nose.

"Found all this in the basement first week I got 'ere" said Hitsugaya-kun.

He waved his hands towards the pile and piles of old stuff. Hisako concluded this all this must've belonged to the previous owner. In one corner there were stacks of broken wooden box crates and each of them were filled with yellowing glass jars. Some were broken or cracked, and some were barely held together. On the other side were towers of books and even more scrolls. There were broken furniture laid all crumpled and broken in the far wall. Blankets of cob-webs covered everything with some bits of insect carcasses peppering across the gossamer silk. A small space was left in the middle marked by dark liquid stains that have since dried. It was a medium sized basement. As far as she could tell, Hitsugaya-kun barely touched anything.

"I didn't 'ave time to go through everythin', but I did take a quick look 'round at most things with Riza. Didn't find anythin' illegal. Just ol' stuff"

Hisako nodded. Surveying the crowded basement.

"But ya might find somethin'"

Hisako only noticed he was still holding her hand when he lifted it up and placed a pair of gloves and nose-and-mouth mask in them. She blushed profusely and looked up at him in question. Oh right, he was suggesting that she should search the place for clues. Why wasn't she thinking as fast as she should?

" _Hey Daisuke-kun! Tsukabishi-san is on the phone and wants to talk to you!"_ The faraway echo of Riza-san resounded from upstairs.

The young apothecary owner rolled his eyes before dropping her hand altogether. His shoulder suddenly twitched and he was full of backfiring wires again.

"If ya need help, give us a holler, yeah?" he said.

"Sure" replied Hisako.

Hitsugaya-kun stomped back upstairs, causing the dust to shake loose from the bottom and it partied around her knees. She was definitely throwing her clothes into the laundry when she got back. Hisako gulped and narrowed her eyes sternly. Okay! Time to get to work. If Isshiki-senpai and his friends were able to find something useful in Lady Nadeshiko's bedroom, then so should she! She was Arato Hisako, the most dependable student secretary Tootsuki had ever seen and she'd be damn if she came up with nothing. She pulled on the gloves and snapped on the face mask. She rolled up her sleeves and strode towards the pile of books and scrolls.

First she needed to look for any record of Azami-dono's name. That meant there had to be a _ledger_ somewhere. She hoped to _Kami-sama_ that it was buried somewhere in his vintage and dusty tomes. There were about twelve stacks of thick books and about thirty scrolls piled together. This was going to be a long day so she'd better get started.

* * *

She must've been at it for _hours._

Hisako felt like her arms were going to fall off. Her eyes strained in the abysmal yellow lighting. It flickered every now again which annoyed her a lot. She felt that the dust and smell had eventually permeated through the face mask, but she wasn't surprised since she'd been down here for ages. She was so engrossed in what she was doing that she had no idea if it was afternoon yet. Each book so far was a textbook on herbs and spices, written decades and decades ago! One or two were even more than a hundred years old. The pages were stiff and yellow, about to crumble into dust if she wasn't careful. The pictures were hand-drawn to the minutest of details with clear labeling and short paragraphs describing their properties, history and use. She couldn't read them very well because they were in English, but she recognised some of the names like basil, cardamom, cloves, and cinnamon. They were typical herbs and spices from the Western world. If her English was better, she would definitely want to take her time perusing these and absorb as much knowledge as she could about these herbs and their historic uses.

No sign of a ledger.

Hisako even scoured the scrolls. They were also hard to read because they were written in 'poetic' or ancient Japanese script, which one could only learn if one studied the subject the old-style language. Again she recognised some words such as Chinese licquorice root, Japanese honey suckle stem, wolfberry tree bark and chrysanthemum flower.

Still no luck.

"One more scroll to go" she muttered.

She picked it up and it was a pretty big one. Probably another one that tells the story Japanese aphrodisiacs or something. This one was a little bit different. Hisako turned it over carefully and to her surprise saw a wax seal melted onto the cord.

"That's odd. Since when did Japanese people use wax seals?"

Hisako huffed with determination. She snapped it open with a satisfying crack and unfurled it. She had to hold it up closer to the light to read it. The ink was kind of faded and sort of smudged but if she really concentrated it look like it was saying—

"Date, September fifteenth, 2012… Name, Shiiki Mukotsu… Product, two and half _shaku_ of _kinsenka_ extract… debit, oh!"

She found the ledger! Hisako grinned and eagerly, but still carefully, rolled the scroll out. She found a stable-enough wooden table in the corner with good lighting and gently placed it on the surface. Determination and excitement buzzed through her veins. She wiped her forehead with her forearm before continuing.

"March and April 2000. I need to see the sales for March and April 2000…" Hisako chanted like a mantra, her voice muffled by the mask. Isshiki-senpai had speculated that was around the time Azami-dono would have bought the poison hemlock before committing the atrocious act of murder.

The ceiling momentarily shook above her causing dust and cobwebs to rain down. She dived forward to cover the laid out scroll with her body. She could feel the dust tickling the nape of her neck. She hoped to _Kami-sama_ that didn't include spiders. Once the ceiling stopped depositing its load into the basement she straightened herself up. As she expected she heard some muffled shouting from upstairs. She couldn't make out the words. Hitsugaya-kun and Riza-san were having an on-and-off row in the shop. That was the third time she heard them shouting up there. She more than bet that there wasn't anything particularly wrong, but more like Hitsugaya-kun wanting things to go his way and Riza-san was trying to reason with him because she probably had a different idea. That's what it was like between those two from time to time. She flicked those distractions away and concentrated soley on looking for the March and April sales of the year 2000.

She scanned.

And scanned.

And scanned.

And scanned.

She reached all the way to the year 1991 and found no such name as Nakiri or Nakamura Azami. Azami-dono and Lady Nadeshiko hadn't even been engaged yet in 1991. Her heart sank. _Damn!_ She had already spent hours here and she found nothing! There was no proof that Azami-dono purchased poison! Frustrated tears began to sting her eyes. She felt insurmountable disappointment flooding her. Everyone was riding on this chance to finally pin Azami-dono. Actual tears dripped onto the scroll, already ruining the antique paper but she didn't care. Hisako was great at getting _other people_ to help such as relying on Yukihira-kun to point her towards the answers during the first year _stagiare,_ and also calling for Hitsugaya-kun's assistance _twice_ to help out Erina-sama's runaway, and to secure a job opportunity at Doctor Haruno's Chinese Herbal Medicine department at Toudai for Shiomi-sensei in order to save Hayama-kun from Azami-dono. However, she couldn't think of a time where she was actually helpful _herself_ when it came to things that mattered. She fisted her gloved hands and bit her lips to stop the rest of her tears from falling. What should she do? What would Isshiki-senpai do? What would Yukihira-kun do?

' _What would Hitsugaya-kun do?'_

That's it…

Hitsugaya-kun… She didn't need to think what he would _specifically_ do, she just thought of what he _always_ did. He had two business sales ledgers. For bookkeeping. One for buying and selling in his shop, and the other for his contracts in wholesales, because he ran two different services in his business. If the previous owner of _Ryuusenka Apothecary_ had _two_ different businesses under the one shop too, where one was legal and the other was _illegal_ , there would also be _two ledgers._

One he would declare to the government for taxes.

One he _would not_ declare to the government for taxes.

Hisako looked around. She had gone through _all_ the books and scrolls around here and only found the legal ledger of _Goshinboku Pharmacy._ She couldn't lose hope now. She pushed up her sleeves again and buckled down. Hisako started to upturn some crates to see if there any scrolls or books hidden away somewhere amongst the junk. With new found energy and vigour, the rosette-haired students used all her strength to clear as many things as possible.

Hisako slipped on a wayward piece of paper.

"AAHHHH!"

It was like slow-motion. Her breath left her body in one fell swoop. The crates got further and further away, as the ceiling entered her field of vision. She was falling backwards. In a fit of panic, she yelled and threw out her hands to catch onto anything to stop herself from falling on her rump. Her hands smacked against the brick wall of the basement. She braced her legs just in time before she could break every bone in her body and pushed against the brick wall to pull herself up. She panted and licked her lips from drying out and she took shaky breaths as she trembled. It felt like a near death experience. Hisako pushed off the wall one last time.

 _The brick shifted backwards._

"Ow!"

Hisako unexpectedly lurched forward and reflexively steadied her other hand against the wall too, lest she smack her face into it! Her hand was stuck! She had pushed the brick and it caved in on the other side all the way to her elbow. With a frightened shriek, she tried to pull her arm free, terrified of what creatures, or spiders, insects and irrationally, what _monsters_ were hiding behind it. She got careless. Hisako hissed from a sharp pain once she managed to free her arm. She groaned. Great, she scraped the inside of her forearm. Damn, the gloves only reached up to her wrist and she had rolled her sleeves up. It was a shallow cut caused by the sharp edges of the brick but beads of ruby-red droplets wept from the wound and it dribbled down her pale, but dirt stained skin. She had to tend to that as soon as possible.

' _What the hell was that, anyway?!'_

Hisako turned her annoyance to the stupid brick wall.

"Why is it… hollow… inside…?" she asked suspiciously.

Hisako ignored the cut and started to pull the loose bricks out one by one and placed them on the rickety table. Why weren't the bricks properly cemented too? It was like somebody took a sledge-hammer to the wall and the replaced the broken bricks with different ones. Finally, Hisako removed the last piece and peered inside.

 _A scroll and a book!_

Sitting inside the man-made crevice was a Japanese scroll and a leather bound Western style book. She hurriedly retrieved them one at time, being careful not to irritate her wound. The scroll had a wax seal too and she snapped it like tempered chocolate. The first thirty centimetres got her heart racing with excitement. She traced her fingers line by line. She was right, it was a ledger too. She skipped the name and dates, and only read the products under each name.

 _Jigitan sui_ otherwise known as 'fox glove'.

 _Maruba fujikama_ otherwise known as 'white snakeroot'.

 _Torkikabuto_ otherwise known as 'wolfsbane'.

 _Ohashiridokoro_ otherwise known as 'deadly nightshade'.

 _Dokuninjin_ otherwise known as 'poison hemlock'

They were all poisonous plants.

"Yes! This is it!"

The previous owner had hidden the proof of his illegal dealings inside the brick wall of the basement. The ceiling trembled above her again and this time a piece of wood fell out and landed about two metres away. She thought Hitsugaya-kun and Riza-san had stopped fighting by now. It wouldn't be good if a sharp piece of wood fell and impaled her head. Hisako quickened her pace and sought for Azami-dono's name.

Found it. April Seventeenth, year 2000… Nakamura Azami… one _momme_ of dried _dokuninjin_ stems. Four thousand _yen._

Hisako felt the burden lift from her shoulders. Isshiki-senpai would definitely relax easy. Actually, the whole Rebel Alliance would have reason to celebrate now! She did it! She found the last piece of evidence! Hisako packed up and took both the scroll and the large leather-bound book back upstairs. Once she climbed out of the antique dungeon, she was temporarily blinded by bright light. She nudged down the face mask with her shoulder.

Fresh air at last!

Hisako emerged into the front of the shop, feeling nothing but happiness and achievement. Riza-san had just finished waving good-bye to a customer as they exited the shop.

"Riza-san. I found what I was looking for" Hisako hefted her load onto the counter.

The older girl spun around, her face was laced with momentary surprise. She opened her mouth to say something but was interrupted.

"Oh, did ya clean out the basement while ya at it?"

Hitsugaya-kun's smug voice emerged from the back. He must have been in the backroom located beyond the stairs. He had his hands stuffed into his pockets, the big bulge in it indicated he probably still had the bag of gummy lollies in there. He raised an eyebrow in mischief and Hisako huffed in response.

"You wish"

He chuckled and then suddenly his eyes widened and his face fell stone cold.

"Ya hurt"

Hisako blinked "Oh yeah, I forgot!"

The rosette-haired student stepped back and inspected her forearm again. She had an effective herbal salve in her travel case. It was a dull ache which was ignorable because she was taken over by adrenaline in finding the illegal ledger from the previous owner. The dull ache began to transform into a heavy throb as the pain returned. Hisako was transfixed at the blood already coagulating and clotting, trying to close the scrape. That was definitely going to leave a scar. Riza gasped and hurried over, ready to be the mother-hen but Hitsugaya-kun beat her to the punch.

"Let's get ya fixed up, sweetheart"

He grabbed her upper-arm and ushered her back upstairs. Hisako yelped along the way and tried to pry his finger off insisting that she could walk on her own. His non-committal grunt told her that he wasn't having any of her arguments as his fingers were refused to budge. He took her to the bathroom. When they got there, Hitsugaya-kun kicked down the toilet seat and guided her to sit on it, not giving her much choice anyway. What had gotten into him? Hitsugaya-kun was acting so peculiar today. He seemed to be off in his world, especially when she was talking to him in his bedroom this morning. He kept twitching, jigging his legs up and down. He would stare at her with those intense and unnerving eyes and then he would look away, and avoided eye contact with her as if he wanted to pretend he didn't know her. His tone scaled from gently teasing to harsh as quick as lightning and with no indication.

Hisako just sat patiently, cradling her hurt arm as Hitsugaya-kun pulled out a medical kit from under the sink. He returned to her and nodded his head towards her arm. Hisako tensed up and showed it to him. Was he going to tend to it himself? She could just do it on her own, it would be fine and it was her own fault anyway for being careless. He laid out some a bottle of antiseptic, rubbing alcohol, gauze, and tape. He knelt down in front her, just below eye-level

Hitsugaya-kun ripped open a small packet.

"This is gonna sting"

Before she knew what happened, Hisako gritted her teeth and winced at the sharp burn of rubbing alcohol making contact with her raw flesh. Hitsugaya dabbed the alcohol soaked cloth gently along the cut. It hurt worse than when she scratched herself! She twisted and turned on her bottom, but the silvery-haired teen held her arm in a strong grip. The icy cold of the rubbing alcohol ate at her like lava, the perfect oxymoron. She bit the inside of her cheeks to stop herself from whining. Was the cut deeper than she thought?

"Look at me sweetheart. Ya gonna be okay"

Hisako felt nothing more than a cry-baby, but the soothing husk of his voice stilled her movements and helped her keep it together. She cracked open one eye like a petulant child and was instantly absorbed into the sinking pools of jade. She slowly opened her other eye and peered back at him and the burning sensation ebbed away as she grew accustomed to it. The skin around his eyes crinkled slightly from the tell-tale signs of a crooked smile easing onto his lips... _just for her..._ Hisako could only hear her heart beat as she continued to be mesmerised in Hitsugaya Daisuke's gaze. She detected some movement in her periphery, his shoulders bobbing his arm up and down but she ignored it. It was like time had no relevance to them, just gave up and stopped. It was like she was falling into his deep orbs forever, never reaching the bottom. She felt herself leaning closer to him, or was it _him_ who was leaning closer? She couldn't tell, only that the distance between them were bridging. Her eyes wanted to dip to his sly lips, but his penetrating orbs held her steadfast. He however was able to flit his eyes all over her face and she followed it, until it finally settled on where her mouth should be. Hisako's throat went impossibly dry.

Hitsugaya-kun's crooked smile melted away and his lips fell slightly open as his jade green eyes took a darker shade of teal, _athirst._ There was no possible way his eyes got more acute and piercing.

 _Ryuusenka._ Dragon hail blossom.

 _ **Ryuu.**_ **Dragon.**

His eyes were like a _Dragon's_.

 _ **Sen.**_ **Hail**

They were a pair of jade _hailstones_.

 _ **Ka.**_ **Blossom**

His intoxicating musk was enveloped in chrysanthemum _blossoms._

"Where did you find this huge book? It is a herbarium of poisonous pla— Uh… am I interrupt something?"

Everything shattered.

Hisako catapulted backwards and hit the cistern as soon as she heard the first syllable uttered from Riza-san's lips. Oh _Kami-sama!_ What the hell was she doing?!Her cheeks were on fire and her hands flew up to cover them. What was happening to her! She was the one acting strange now! Just then, she felt like she was drawing closer towards Hitsugaya-kun, like a helpless hamster hypnotised by the hungry snake. Out of nowhere, she wanted to know what it felt like to feel his lips against—

 _"Nothin'._ We're finished"

Hisako felt a stab of frostbite from his eerily monotonous voice. Done? But he hardly did anythi— Oh. Hisako lifted her injured arm and sure enough it already had gauze taped to her arm, covering the whole expanse of the cut. Hitsugaya-kun got up and all but slammed the medical kit shut with a loud bang and shoved it back under the sink. His eyes were green glaciers, and his face was impassive as he pushed past his employee roughly without a word. Hisako creased her brows in worry, watching his hunched back retreating to his room. He slammed his door shut with a quick backwards kick. Hisako was lost and confused at this new bizarre behaviour, but was brought back to the present by the distinct scent of antiseptic mingled with the rubbing alcohol. She blinked rapidly, bewildered that he dressed her wound so quickly and efficiently that she barely felt it. There was residual stinging sensations, but it was tolerable. But all this time they were staring into each others' eyes, so how could he—"

' _Oh that bastard can split his attention like an amateur curdling cream'_

So was he teasing her then… using his charm to distract her so he could just bandage her up as quickly as possible. He probably felt guilty and bothered for letting her search through all that junk by herself and wasn't there to help her. So he gritted his teeth and sucked it up. He forced himself the responsibility to take care of her because he probably didn't want to bother with some impending lawsuit against him for health and safety. Not that she would ever sue him over something like this! Her stomach churned. He expected her to be the kicking and screaming type, did he? The bastard knew all the country-town girls were attracted to him somehow. So she supposed that whole thing about changing his facial expression to be more intimate was supposed to take advantage of her being a girl too, to further divert her attention so he could finish up bandaging with no fuss. Making her want to kiss him… Hisako was the idiot who fell for it too easily.

She felt so stupid.

"I am sorry, did something happen?" asked Riza-san hesitantly.

Hisako shook her head defiantly. Nope nothing at all.

"You said something about a herbarium?" Hisako quickly switched topics.

' _Don't cry, don't cry don't cry'_

"Yeah… but do not worry about that, not important" said Riza-san, placing the old tome onto the sink. "Want some tea?"

"Yes please…" said Hisako. Riza-san beckoned her to follow her across the landing and down the stairs. Hisako was silent the whole way, barely registering what Riza-san was saying because her thoughts were too full and was threatening to burst out of her head.

"— The leaves are perfectly preser—"

"Is…Hitsugaya-kun alright?" Hisako interrupted.

She had to ask. Hitsugaya-kun wasn't a traditional or conventional person because of his million-watt brain, but even today was going too far for him. Riza-san faced her. It was riddled with trepidation and then it melted into extreme discomfort. Her thin lips pursed together and she scratched the back of her head. Her honey-brown eyes went dull and weary as she avoided eye contact with Hisako. That was when the rosette-haired student became aware that Riza-san had put a lot of effort in maintaining her bubbly and positive persona.

"No… No, he is most definitely not" she sighed.

"What happened?"

"We will talk someplace out of earshot"

Riza already had boiled water patiently waiting in their kettle, just needing to be poured into a teapot filled with right amount of jasmine tea blossoms. Hisako was once again in awe of how generous and thoughtful this woman was. She always knew what to say, what to do, and how to make people fel better. Tadokoro-san was the same, but different. She was always so _skittish_ and _jittery_ when trying to be helpful or comforting to someone, which _added_ to the person's worry because she made them worry over _her_ in replacement of their initial worry. Riza-san was on a whole different level since she's got Hitsugaya-kun to look out for, and she did so with grace. It was no wonder she took Hisako's, Erina-sama's, Alice's and Kurokiba-kun's runaway plan all in stride and handled their affair expertly, making them feel right at home and safe. Their runaway had to be an inconvenience to the running of _Ryuusenka Apothecary_ and their daily life, but she made accommodating them look so _effortless_. That was probably because they were _nothing_ compared to the snowy-ball of snark Riza-san had to deal with everyday. She wondered if Riza-san was naturally like this growing up, or did she become this way because she had to look out for Hitsugaya-kun.

 _'Tadokoro-san needs to take a leaf out of Riza-san's book'_

Riza toted the tray of beautifully aromatic jasmine tea. Hisako fell into step and she was lead to the back porch. Worry gnawed at her stomach. Was it serious? Hisako noticed it was the exact same spot that Hitsugaya-kun and Erina-sama had their hear-to-heart talk in the dead of night. They both sat down with thoughts of their tea forgotten entirely and both fell into anxious silence. Riza-san pulled her tight pony-tail free, but her hair remained slightly bunched from being tied up so tightly the whole day. She laced her fingers together and propped them upon her spread knee. Her face was the epitome of concentration. Hisako waited patiently.

"Daisuke-kun is _using_ again…"

Hisako tried to compute that.

"Using? what do you mean by _using?"_

 _"Using_ as in… you know… substance abuse"

"Oh _Kami-sama,_ _why?!"_

"It is not what you think!"

Riza turned around hastily and clasped Hisako's hands. What did she mean, _it wasn't what she thought?!_ What the hell was she supposed to think! If she was correct, Hitsugaya-kun was engaging in self-destructive behaviour! Her hands went all clammy and Hiskao shook with absolutely fear. Riza-san's warm honey-brown eyes begged her to stay calm but how could she stay calm?! Hitsugaya-kun's behaviour made so much sense now. He was anxious, distracted, irritable, restless, fidgetting, he was having mood swings, he was having cravings! Given the hollowness in his cheeks, he wasn't sleeping or eating properly either. Had being a _tensai_ become too much for him and he succumbed to his boredom? Now he was back to seeking something risky to stimulate him again? When she stared into his eyes…

 _His pupils were blown wide._

Was it marijuana again?! Or was it something _worse?!_

"It's nicotine patches" said Riza-san, patting Hisako's hand as if reading her thoughts.

"W-What?"

"Nicotine patches. He's using them the same way people use it to quit smoke… but he is using too much… I found out about a month ago. It was the same night you called to ask if you could bring your friends over. He was using a twenty-four hour kind. I suspect he had been on them longer than a month… right under my nose too" said Riza-san sadly.

 _"But_ …w _hy?_ Why would he-"

"He said it helped him to think better. He did not even try to make his excuse sound convincing. That means it it because their is something he cannot calculate, it is something _emotional_ "

"Emotional?"

"Yes. Daisuke-kun cannot deal with his own emotions very well. To him, there are too many facets, too many parameters, too many variables, always changing, gets in the way of things. It is not because it is too _hard,_ but because he doesn't really 'compute' it, so he deals with other's. I mean, he _understands_ emotions and how they affect people, but only enough for him to win them over for his own agenda… to get what he wants. That is why he acts all flirty, smart and witty, leaves people hanging, keep them wanting more, keeping them at arms length, hurts their feelings sometimes if he thinks it will be funny. It is his 'default' setting, I guess. He does not add himself to the equation" said Riza-san.

"Then what's changed?" asked Hisako.

"One day, he met someone. A pretty girl from the city. She looks like a really hard working girl. She cares for her charge, who clearly looks like somebody who should be able to take care of her own affairs but just chooses not to because she rolls around in money—

* * *

 _"— and yet this prettier girl standin' next to her still finds it in her heart to spare her valuable time to her. She's also very loyal, organised, diligent 'n' without fail comes to my apothecary once every few weeks to make sure her stock cupboard is full 'n' ready to use. Why else would she need to, except for traditional medicine 'n' medicinal cookin'. I know she doesn't actually come on behalf of her family, because I've already taken care of their orders which gets picked up even before she arrives, therefore she actually comes for her own stock. This clearly tells me that her heart holds great compassion 'n' devotion for humanity 'n' has great skill 'n' kindness to pursue the art of healin' the body. She's also very strong headed 'n' won't take bullshit from anyone who says a bad word against who she cherishes. Also she's ready to defend their honour at any cost. I think she can be quite stubborn 'n' her pride in her family, 'n' the family she serves adds to her beauty_ _—"  
_

* * *

 _"—_ Ah, I almost forgot, that spitfire in her eyes, it always amuses him too" finished Riza-san.

Hisako was speechless. Hisako looked up. As Riza was talking, her memory of Hitsugaya-kun's voice at that time had begun to overlap. Repeating word for word exactly what he said all those months ago like a ghost. It was like two moments touching across time to meet each other, echoing their shared thoughts.

"You know, I was standing right there when Daisuke-kun said all those nice things about you. But you guys did not notice. He had never taken _effort_ to analyse somebody under an emotional context before. _You are the only one"_ said Riza-san.

 _'Wrong'_

He did it with Erina-sama. He could understand Erina-sama's tumultuous feelings and _explain_ it to her as if it were one plus one equals two. So he could understand emotions. Just not his own. The bastard had to look at it from a distance, barred up in a high fortress where he couldn't touch it… _then_ …He could deal with it without being affected. He did it again with her too, explaining that what he did for Erina-sama was so that she didn't end up an emotionally ignorant imbecile like him. He does it for his own agenda? He does it to get what he wants? _Bullshit._ He was helping other people, just not willing to help _himself._

"Are you saying… _I'm_ the reason he's addicted to nicotine patches?" Hisako asked in a shaky voice.

"I think so"

Hisako closed her eyes and gritted her teeth. She felt Riza-san tightly grasp her hand.

"He likes you very much, Arato-san. He just does not know how to deal with it because for the first time, he is in the equation. So he uses something else to deal with it _for_ him. I tried to get him to do something else like maybe, spend more time with you other than at the shop, like giving you a tour of our town on your next visit. Visit you at Tootsuki or something, but he would not listen to me. He got very angry…"

Hisako bowed her head. Her fists shook in her lap, not caring that Riza-san could feel it too. So _she_ was the reason he was falling into a hellish pit. Resorting to harmful twenty-four hour nicotine patches when he _had absolutely_ no need for it. Nicotine patch could be even more addictive than smoking in some cases. Hisako was a boiling cauldron of emotions. Emotions she couldn't give a name to. So he _liked_ her and he's making his body go through hell for it? What did that make her? She was causing him trouble, was she? She was a glitch to his system. She found the name for it now. It was _anger_ and _disappointment_. The attraction she felt for Hitsugaya Daisuke started to feel sickening. He was a mess on the inside, and he would _forever_ be a mess. He'll always horde his research in his shed and never let it see the light, using the pathetic excuse that 'nobody would understand' when he didn't even try to _let_ anyone understand. He could try to act all fine and cool, continuing to walk with a swagger, high above the world by avoiding all his demons from behind _Ryuusenka Apothecary,_ but he had to face them eventually and stop running away.

He didn't deserve Riza-san's help and company.

He didn't deserve _Ryuusenka Apothecary_.

He didn't deserve his intellectual gift.

 _He didn't deserve her._

Not when he was doing something completely and utterly _STUPID!_

Hisako shot up from her seat on the porch and wiped the angry tears from her eyes. Had she been crying? Hell if she noticed, so was too infuriated to care. Oh she was a woman scorned alright! If anything, she wasn't going to be the reason for somebody's downfall no matter what. She threw the sliding door open and pushed her other sleeve up. She was seeing red. Riza-san called out behind her but she was already stomping up the stairs. She was on a war path. Once she reached _the bastard's_ door she slammed her fists on it.

"Hitsugaya! Open up! I want to have a word with you _RIGHT NOW!"_ she yelled.

There was some clunking on the other side and the door was edged open. Hisako didn't have a moment to lose and pushed it with all her strength until it swung from its hinges into the adjacent wall. Hitsugaya-kun was still in his stupid aqua hoodie and he stumbled backwards in shock. The rosette-haired teen stepped into the stupid room and pushed the stupid boy onto the stupid bed. He fell back onto his rump. He sat there, sprawled on his untidy sheets, blinking up at her with wide and confused eyes. This was ironic. She firmly placed her hands akimbo and glared powerfully at him, making a point that he wasn't going to get his stupid way this time and he was going to listen to her with _rapt attention._

"Riza-san told me that you're abusing nicotine patches"

"What the fu _— RIZA!"_

"No, no! You don't get to call for her help _now!_ After ignoring her in the first place! Are you on it right now? Show me!" Hisako snapped at him.

Hitsugaya-kun's jaw clamped shut, but he glared furiously at her. He got back up and crossed his arms across his chest. He stepped toe to toe with her, pushing his face to hers and snarled. Hisako refused to be intimidated by him.

"So what if I am? _It's none of ya business"_ he hissed.

"It _is_ my business because I'm the reason why you're on it, right? It's my fault because you _like_ me!" she screamed in his face.

"Is that what she said?" Hitsugaya-kun scoffed sardonically. "The woman doesn't know what she's talkin' 'bout _"_

He screwed his eyes together as if Hisako was giving him a big headache. He curled his fingers together into tight fists. His neck muscles bunched up as his nostrils flared dangerously. He turned away from her, refusing to look at her as he bared his teeth to the side. His molten jade eyes snapped open and it boiled with so much ire, his wide pupils could turn into slits if he really tried. His tightened and tense postured exuded an animosity that was like acid-burning, slicing, potent. His face was red with suppressed anger and she could almost see the steam coming off his cheeks. Angry at her? or angry at Riza-san? or angry at _himself?_ Whatever the case, Hisako took offense on Riza-san's behalf.

"Then why? I know it's not to help you think better, because you and both now that you can think of things better than anyone can" she stepped forward, craning her head at him to force his eyes to meet with hers.

"Why do ya care anyway" he growled. Hitsugaya-kun turned away from her and raked his head through his, head. He busied himself with rummaging through his paper-ridden desk but Hisako knew he was just doing that to avoid engaging with her.

"I care because it's going to destroy you!" she yelled at his back.

"I'm not gonna overdose"

Hiskao mentally snapped.

"Trying to be smart with me? You know what, I'll have Riza-san call your parents and they will sort you out"

Hiskao huffed. She had enough. She took delight in the raw fear seeping into his eyes as soon a she mentioned his parents. She spun on her heels, sure that the ball was in her court and strode confidently towards the door ready to deliver Hitsugaya-kun's sweet and caring employee her instructions.

 _BAM!_

She gasped. The view of the hallway vanished in an instant and all she could see was dark brown. A very hot and growling body pressed up against her back and her hips hit the door, causing a sting. She looked up in shock only to see Hitsugaya-san's hand tightly pressed against the back of his door, keeping it shut to prevent her escape. He effectively caged her in and there was no way to run. Her blood raced up and down in terror and confusion, she had no idea what to do or what he was going to do next. She shivered with both fear and wonder as he panted angrily next to her ear. His chrysanthemum scent was the strongest she'd ever smelled and it made her want to bite her lip.

 _"You want to know the real reason? It's got NOTHING to do with LIKING you"_ he whispered harshly. His thick and husky voice made her blood race down south instead.

He finally released her and stepped back. Hisako remained pressed against the door despite him peeling himself off her back. She slowly turned around, trembling. He'd never acted so violently before. He was very tender in his touches today, when he was helping her down the basement stairs and when treating her arm. She placed her hand on her heart, trying to calm it down and regain her breath. Perspiration prickled against her forehead as her mind ran a million miles to figure out exactly what was happening. Hisako was now _truly_ frightened of what he was capable of, both intellectually and physically. Anything could happen with a genius teen who was on nicotine.

"You're always on my mind. You never fuckin' _leave"_

He jabbed his finger to his temple.

"It's fuckin' incomprehensible. I know everythin' that's in ya stock 'n' how much is left from what ya buy. I know how ya like to arrange ya purchases by weight in ya stock cupboard from how ya carry 'em. I know how ya breathe quicker, and ya pull the hem of ya shirts and ya get all uppity when ya excited 'bout new tea blends Riza 'n' I created. I count the _days_ when ya come back! I think of ya, 'n' my heart's gonna combust. I imagine ya cussin' me out 'n' I get fuckin' excited. Ya talk to me as I am, nothin' like how other's talk to me 'n' I can't understand it. It's like ya this one stable force in a world filled with chaos 'n' I desperately need that every day of my life, but ya miles 'n' miles away. This feelin'… I can't measure it, I can't calculate it, I can't give it width, length, height or breadth. It's just _absolute._ It feels as though I'm in a dangerous fire 'n' completely safe at the same time. It feels so strange. It stretches throughout my whole body 'n' it makes me feel complete, at the same time it's creatin' a bigger hole. Thinkin' if ya had somebody else ya fancied feels like it's tearin' my soul in two 'n' one half is thrown over a cliff 'n' I can't get it back"

Hisako's lips trembled.

He prowled towards her like a jaguar, sending her own feet backwards until her back collided into his door. His green eyes flashed dangerously. His jaw wired shut so tightly she thought his teeth would crack. When he was only inches away, he braced his right hand beside her head as if with slow and careful deliberation, making himself even more threatening. She could feel strands of her hair getting caught in his fingers. Hisako's heart leapt. She couldn't believe this was making her feel frightened and sad at the same time. He leaned his face closer, his green eyes bored into her, filled with green fire.

"So you think I _like_ ya? Wrong. It has to take more than _liking ya_ to get me back onto nicotine, _sweetheart"_

He turned away like a storm again and pounded his hands onto his desk. He hung his head, as if he was exhausted from unloading all his feelings and insecurities onto her. Hisako was stupefied, but when she recovered, she couldn't find it in herself to be disgusted with him anymore.

"The sun's 'bout to set. Ya better catch the last- mmppf?!"

Hisako surprised herself. She leapt forward and grabbed him by the collar of his hoodie and pulled him away from the desk for a bruising kiss. His dry lips were frozen against her lips, and so were his hands. Hisako was overcome with something so powerful, that it took over her rationality without mercy. It might have been his words, or it might have been his candour, or the raw emotion behind them in facing his feelings. Whatever it was, she just wanted to touch him all over. Hisako's lips tingled with anticipation as desperately moved it against his, until he started to come out his shell and reacted. He hesitantly glided his lips against hers. His hands slowly came up to the small of her back and pushed her against his body. Hisako gasped and Hitsugaya-kun probed his tongue against the seam of her lips, touching her teeth. She groaned and opened her mouth wider for his tongue to slip in and dance with hers. She pulled his hoodie against and he grunted against her, his guttural voice reverberating off his throat, sending sparks through her body.

She ripped her lips from his, leaving him to figure out what the hell happened.

"You are _so, so , so , so STUPID"_ cried Hisako. "If you bothered to stop being the cynical genius and tried to _feel_ what your _heart_ was already telling you instead of your _head,_ then you'd know that I-I…I…I

She gulped. _"I like you too"_

"Huh?"

What did he mean _'huh'?_ Hisako had never seen him look so dumb.

Then his eyes hardened, she knew, she _just knew..._

That he was calculating, computing, calculating, computing, calculating, computing, calculating, computing, calculating and computing at the speed of light.

"I'm not lying, Hitsugaya-kun" her voice barely a whisper. _"I like you"_

Everything happened so fast.

Just like that, he bridged the gap and crashed his mouth onto hers.

Hisako was seeing stars. Hitsugaya-kun slithered his hand and placed it on the tender space between her where her neck and shoulder met. He angled her neck up so that he dipped her head back, and Hisako felt she couldn't escape him. Her heart was pounding out of control, and her breath was seemingly lost. He caressed her lips in earnest and bit it softly, soft growling emitted from his throat. Hitsugaya-kun began pushing her backwards, until the back of her knees collided with the bed. She fell backwards and he tumbled with her. She caught a face-full of his hoodie, but she easily fixed that by hungrily seeking those lips that left her feeling hot. She scrunched her fingers into his silky locked and Hitsugaya-kun groaned as she accidentally pulled it. Hisako's breathing grew erratic and the only though on her mind was wanting Hitsugaya-kun so much. His hips pressed up against her tightly and she whimpered. Something blossomed in her stomach, building a craving she didn't understand. Hitsugaya-kun left her lips removed his arms so that he caged it over her. His green eyes flickered with something primal and ferocious as he swept his gaze across her face. He leaned over and nudged her head forcefully to the side and latched his lips against her neck.

"A-Ah" Hisako gasped.

She felt a warm hand slide under her blouse, just teasing the flesh at the hem. His fingers brushed over her side and crept higher. She couldn't stop twitching, desperate for him to just splay his rough, warm hands against her goose-pimpled skin. She squeezed hers legs, but it was almost impossible with his body pressed down on her. Hitsugaya-kun had the nerve to chuckle against her neck, sending sweet vibrations. He stopped what he was doing and lifted himself to his elbows and gazed down at her. his snowy white hair framing his face. Hisako must've looked like a right mess, her face all red, her blouse was dishevelled, and her hair strewn across her face and neck. He just smirked at her, his eyes dancing with a carnal light.

"Should we be movin' this fast?"

"Shut up and kiss me"

Hisako yanked him down. She kissed him again and he responded feverishly. She could still feel him softly smiling against her lips. Hisako snaked her hands under his hoodie, grazing her finger tips against the taught muscles as well as the _—_

 _"Don't"_

Hisako stopped once she reached just the outer edges of his starburst shaped scar.

Hitsugaya clenched his muscles even more and she could tell he was trying really hard to control his breathing. He remained hovering above her. His eyes turned into impenetrable ice as if warning her not to go further. She disobeyed him and continued to trace along the raised legions whilst holding his eye contact with furious determination. His breathing grew more erratic and deeper and she felt every single, dip, line and bump of the cicatrices.

"Can I see it?" she asked.

"Are ya sure?" he countered.

"Yes"

After a few moments of silence, Hitsugaya-kun was all business. He raised onto his haunches and started to remove his hoodie. Hisako twisted in anticipation and excitement, the vision of him towering over made her feel weak for him. She watched his muscle ripple as he worked the baggy hooded jumper over his head. She held back a gasp. The infamous square nicotine patch was plastered on the inside of his left forearm. There were other marks around it, like outlines of a stencil from multiple patches from past use. She concentrated on his main scar. Up close, the scar was absolutely horrific, at the same time utterly _beautiful_. She could see the pink veins through the milky melted bumps and dips carved permanently into his skin. She reached up against and traced it again, eye wide with wonder.

"How did it happen?" she whispered.

"Chemical explosion. I was messin' 'round in the shed back home. That's how my parents found out I was growin' marijuana" he chuckled mirthlessly. He didn't stop her from feeling him.

"It must've been so painful" said Hisako.

"Yeah"

She did something surprising again. She caught his left arm and ripped the nicotine patch from his and threw it onto the floor. He yelped, but there was nothing he could do. His skin blossomed with an angry red rash from her violence. _There_. He would never need this anymore.

Next she leaned in and pressed her lips to his large scar. Hitsugaya-kun cupped the back of her head again. He eased the tension in his muscles at her actions with a long exhale. She placed her hand where his heart should be and memorised heavy thumping in his chest. He was feeling as overtaken as she was? She peppered butterfly kisses over every square inch of the scar. She even had to lift herself up because it reached so high. Hitsugaya-kun pushed her back down again, disconnecting her from his scar and climbed on top of her. He laced his fingers with her and nudged her knees apart so he could settle between them and thus pressing himself impossibly close to her. Hisako moaned loudly at the feeling of him hard against her as well as his teasing fingers reached under her blouse and bra, and to pinch her nipple.

"O-Oh!"

He rolled it between his fingers in all the right ways. His mouth descended upon her again, and tore at it in a frenzy She yearned for more of his affections. She whimpered against his roughness and he nibbled her lip when she pulled away for air, his teeth scraping against her made her shiver with delight. He began to knead her breast, but the restrictions of her clothing stopped him from doing much. Hisako felt herself lift off the bed as he tugged her blouse over her head and needy hands tried to unclip her bra from the back. The rosette-haired girl helped him, she unlatched it and he did the honours of throwing it to the side and dived down to shower her breast with kisses.

 _"Wait, H-Hitsu—"_

" _Daisuke_ " he whispered.

His first name sounded so good to her, and Hisako was eager to say it, but she couldn't for he was devouring her mouth again. Hisako's mouth froze in a silent shriek. Her mind went blank and she was far to enraptured with Daisuke-kun's ministrations to care about modesty and morality. She tried to flatten the space between them and encircled her arms around his head, the feel of his hot tongue laving across her skin left her choking. The building need in her belly left her starving. He returned to nip at her lips whilst still palming her moist breasts, and she groaned. Her thigh instinctively squeezed him tighter. He panted. The friction from his closeness caused her new found hunger to boil and made her loins feel dripping wet.

Daisuke-kun's other hand twitched at her hips, making his intentions very clear. Moving, his finger eased its way down to the waistband of her shorts. She felt his finger prodding at the aching nub through her panties. She bucked her hips, offering no resistance and she ripped her mouth from his to whine at him.

 _"Please..."_

He circled his thumb against her, while she tried to wiggle out of her shorts. Daisuke-kun pressed her stomach down to stop her moving and took care of that himself. Once her shorts slid down her legs, she was only left in her panties. She was unsure how things escalated so rapidly, but she didn't care. All she thought about was him and the waves of pleasure he was making her succumb to.

" _Hisako_ _"_

Said girl melted into pure bliss as her name rolled from his tongue like molasses. She couldn't let him have his way all the time, her pride got the better of her passionate side. She pulled against the belt loops of his jeans.

"Take it off" she ordered.

Daisuke-kun's eyes lit up with ardour at her words, excitement and ego danced in them. She could see it and it made her feel good. He chuckled thickly, and she could just get addicted to that sound. His molten stare did not break from hers as he unzipped his jeans, pushing them down and discarding them onto the floor. When he returned to her, she instantly rubbed her hips against him, making him smirk. He slowed down his movements to a torturous pace. Even now he stole the control from her and was being a tease!

He kissed and licked down her neckline and she bucked even harder, growing more and more needy for his tongue. She keened when he reached her collar and nibbled, Daisuke-kun was using his teeth an awful lot. It was maddening. The bulge at his apex grew fast, and the insides of her thigh brushed against it and it was his turn to groan long and hard, and he pressed against her harder and more urgent. Hisako moaned too when she felt something akin to a hard tip prodding in percussive motions against her opening through their panties.

 _"Nghnn…"_ he groaned

The way Daisuke-kun clasped his fingers more tightly to her waist, and his breathing turning rapid meant he was losing his cool. He lifted her up slightly to adjust their alignment to the bed, and slammed her back down onto her back to prove his point. He stared at her with intently, carnal and lustful fire burning in his eyes. Hisako's magenta eyes were blurred from passion, her skin flushed from her cheeks all the way down to her love-bite riddled neck. She nibbled her swollen lips and his pupils enlargened.

 _"Damn"_ he grunted.

His fingers became more authorative and slipped into her panties. He inserted a finger into her nether-lips and Hisako cried out in from the foreign, but delicious invasion down below. She cried out in ecstacy as soon as his nimble fingers rubbed her clitoris.

 _"Daisuke-kun-!"_

He stroked her in languid motions, it was agonising by it felt so good! Hisako was so utterly gone, that she didn't notice that he took her uninjured hand with his other and guided it down into his boxers. He wrapped her fingers around _him_ and Hisako gasped. He was hot, thick and hard from arousal. He throbbed heavily. She couldn't believe she was making him feel this way. She licked her lips and her spine tingled from excitement for the power she had over him. She had never deigned to dream of this before, let alone actually doing it. She started to stroke him slowly under his guidance, and watched his hips move with her hands. Daisuke-kun continued to pleasure her with those delicious circular motions.

Hiskao gasped in delight when he pinched her nub and her hold on him faltered. She took that as a test and grew braver and stroked her thumb across the tip. Daisuke-kun lurched with a throaty groan. She did it again, and again, and again. Finally he pulled his fingers from her and got rid of his boxers, and got rid of her panties.

It was magnificent.

The sight of a naked Hitsugaya Daisuke kneeling before her stole her breath. He was made of sharp angles and toned muscle. Of course, his explosive scar vandalised his smooth tanned body. It made him all the more alluring. His dark jade eyes lowered with lust and he panted unevenly. She licked her lips and automatically rubbed her thighs together.

 _"Hisako"_ he purred.

Hisako's eyes followed him as he reached over to his bedside table and pulled something noisily from the drawers. She panted, and had to blink a few times to see what it was and realised it was a condom. He expertly ripped it open and hurriedly slipped the protective membrane over his pulsing shaft and tossed the plastic wrapper onto the floor. His delicious warmth engulfed her again as he crouched forward loomed over her, bracing his arms by each side of her face.

Daisuke-kun placed gentle kisses onto her forehead making her sigh and her heart ached for him. He positioned himself. His throbbing member prodded her moistening entrance. Hisako released a soft groan, pushing her hips up in encouragement. He only rubbed his tip against her and Hisako hissed at his teasing. She had enough of his toying because he was making her go insane!

With a smirk, Daisuke bucked his hips and sank into her in one swift motion.

 _"AHHH-!"_

Hisako scream was drowned in his ferocious kiss. It felt like she was torn in two! Tears leaked from her eyes. The strong ache between her legs felt too hot, and too tight! His hips pinned her to the bed like a steel rod. She burn grew stronger and her legs began to kick out on their own volition. It made the pain worse, so she forced herself to keep frightfully still, waiting for it to be over. She choked back a sob as he began to withdraw from her.

 _"It's okay, ya doin' great, sweetheart…"_

Daisuke-kun groaned but still endevoured to kiss her tears away, and pressed his lips tenderly to her cheek. Soon the ache pulsed to a dull soreness, and was replaced by an unsatisfying sensation. Her neediness returned and she looked into Daisuke-kun's eyes, trying to tell him she was ready for him to move and tried to alleviate it by rocking her hips. Daisuke-kun withdrew further only to slam back into her again. A shot of electricity pulsed up and down her spine and she shuddered against him. Her breaths turned into louad moans as he thrusted slowly at first, and then deeper and harder. She felt so stretched by his girth, it made her feel utterly filled and complete! Her skin slid against his, their building sweat mingling together and his chrystanthamum musk took over her mind. Hisako could feel Daisuke-kun holding back from taking her in a frenzied manner by his severely measured strokes. He grunted and gasped and his eyes were closed as he groan with every thrust, his resistance hanging by a thread.

 _"Yes_ _…"_

Hisako couldn't deny it, she loved his tenderness and his roughness. Daisuke-kun began displaying his obsessive tendencies which she saw from his nicotine addiction, as he groped at her and his pace quickened, rocking back and forth with barely any mercy. Her mind was a puddle and she just gave into this crazy and pleasurable stirs. She cried out again and again, hearing her voice bounce off the wall as Daisuke-kun also gasped loudly. Hiskao wrapped her legs around his slim hips, drawing him deeper. She slid her thigh up and down his scar. He thrusted more sharply making her scream louder.

His pants become feral as his pace lost control and he was just pounding into her in a frenzy. The bed creaked noisily, it's frame screeching against the wall. A primal growl burst from him as he slammed into her repeatedly. She was so sensitive to each of his strokes, and clung to each europhoric sensation he induced in her.

 _"Kami-sama_ _…_ _ah! Daisuke-kun_ _…_ _"_ Hisako crooned.

She felt something else building in her, it twisted and bubbled at her core. She grew hotter and wetter, she clawed her nails desperately at his back trying to find the height she yearned to throw herself off. She felt her walls squeeze around him, as if wanting to exploit his raw nature, and he succumbed to it. Daisuke-kun grabbed her hips and dragged it up, his turgid member hitting that precious spot within her that sent her howling his name. Her walls continued to spasm and clench him tightly. Daisuke-kun buried his face into her neck, his ragged pants caressing her ear.

She was almost there _…_ She was so close! she was on the very edge!

 _"Stay with me, sweetheart… urgh_ _—_ _fuck!… that's it"_ he groaned.

Her moans became raspy, and her throat was sore from her shrill screams. Moving away from her neck, he crushed his mouth onto hers, bruising it with his ferocity. Then he yanked away and pressed his forehead to hers, his eyes were coated with an animalistic sheen, pulling her soul from her eyes into his.

 _"Daisuke_ _—!"_

 _"Hisako_ _…!_ _"_ he growled low and guttural.

Hearing him gasp her name with intense need as he rammed into her over and over was too overwhelming, she was reaching that cliff and was feeling the inescapable bliss taking over. She screamed his name one last time with abandoned as she shattered into a million pieces. His member continued to penetrate her, forcing her to ride out her orgasm for longer until she was all but spent. Finally she felt him shudder and spasm. He shouted and thick streams of hotness burst inside her. Daisuke-kun pushed himself right up to the hilt as he crushed her to his chest. He choked out her name for the final time too and his tempo broke, as he rode out his own gratification. He groaned and Hisako sighed in response.

Then everything slowed until it stopped completely.

Hisako panted rigidly. Her skin felt so sticky. Her eyelids fluttered as she stared at his ceiling. She felt like she was floating on a cloud and there was no way down. The weight above her shifted and she turned her head wearily towards him. Her chest rose and fell from exhaustion. Daisuke-kun's face full of bliss and glistened with sweat, as if he had just woke from a satisfying sleep and entered another good dream. His brow dripped with perspiration, and his snowy hair was stuck to his face.

She sighed.

He smiled at her softly and she smiled back. He bowed his head and gave her one last thorough kiss before he pulled out completely and collapsed beside her. Hisako shifted her leg and she felt already sore from _…_ what they did to each other _…_ Shuffling noises from beside her reached her ears. She heard the sound of something being tossed into the waste-basket and then a soft blanket was thrown across her hot and sweat-stained body. Warmth sidled up to her and a patch-free arm was wrapped around her waist pulling her in. Hisako sighed in contentment and turned around. She tucked her head under Daisuke-kun's chin. He smelt of sweat, and something sexual. But his chrysanthemum scent was always present and she never wanted it to disappear. She listened to the puffing from his nostrils as he breathed calmly. She felt at peace in his embrace, feeling his heart beat resonate through his chest. She felt like she belonged here, in his arms, by his side. It felt natural to cuddle him, so she stroked where she knew his scar was and he didn't tense up at all, bringing another happy smile to her lips. He stroked her back and Hisako enjoyed his affections.

"If we do this every time ya visit, I promise to never use nicotine patches or anythin' else again" said Daisuke.

She could hear the smirk in his words, but it was genuine.

That insufferable genius.

* * *

 _ **The next day**_ ** _…_**

Hisako had no idea how to tell Erina-sama why she was about to arrive back at Tootsuki one day later than she should.

"So, I took the liberty of making scans of the illegal ledger for you as well, in case something happens to the original and you need a copy sent over Oh! I placed a free sample of our rosebud and black tea into you bag too. And before I forget! I made you some sandwiches in case you get hungry on the train _…_ You never know if there might be delays that could take hours to resolve, and once your stomach rumbles, you have got to feed the beast!"

"Yes, thank you Riza-san, you've done so much for me already"

Hisako laughed and took the _bentou_ box from her with much appreciation. She hugged the young woman who went out of her way to make sure everything was prepared for her. Hisako smiled warmly and released her friend. Riza-san beamed at her, her dimples deep and her eyes twinkling. Hiskao felt so lucky to have met her.

"Let her go, she's got shit to do"

Hiskao turned around and elbowed Daisuke-kun in the ribs. He grunted and feigned hurt but he threw on a cocky grin.

"I got what I came for, so now I hope everything our Rebel Alliance can end this facade quickly, and return Tootsuki to normal" said Hisako.

"Wow. I feel so cheap" Daisuke-kun deadpanned.

Hisako frowned at him, but she was actually smiling on the inside. Why did he always have to throw in a smart-arse comment or two? It wasn't necessary! She aimed another blow to the ribs. He caught her elbow before it made contact. He chuckled and pulled her in for a quick peck on the lips. She hardly resisted. His eyes gleamed at her. He might be grinning like an arrogant twat, but his eyes were smiling genuinely at her.

"You'll keep your promise, right? You'll get help" said Hisako, searching his eyes that he really meant to hold that promise.

"Yeah, I will" he replied tenderly.

"You'll tell your parents too?"

"Ya want me to die?" he cocked an eyebrow.

Hisako punched him in the arm again. Daisuke-kun just shook it off with a lazy grin. He wrapped his arm her shoulder and pressed a light kiss onto her temple. His affectionate side had become more pronounced as his teasings had also become more touchy-feely around the apothecary the morning after. She had to fight for her right to shower in peace until he conceded and had left her to shower alone with a pout. They slept all the way to five'o'clock the next morning! Riza-san had welcomed them downstairs with breakfast, because she two was an early riser. It had been omelette made from fresh eggs and fresh tomatoes from the organic farmer's market, and fresh herbs from the greenhouse. Both she and Daisuke-kun had slept through dinner time due to _… his rehabilitation…_ So she was utterly famished the next morning. Breakfast was delicious and it had probably been the most embarrassing morning of her life. The whole town must've heard their carnal activities yesterday! But Riza-san hadn't said a word and had pretended like nothing had ever happened.

Besides, she had been more happy with burning Daisuke's box of nicotine patches in the oven.

"I do not think we need to at this point" said Riza-san "But if Daisuke-kun falls off the rails again, I will definitely make a call, not to your mum like I normally do when you are being an asshat, but to your _father"_

Daisuke-kun stiffened. "Do it 'n' ya dead to me"

"Father? What's wrong with your father?" Hisako asked curiously.

"Comparin' to my ol' man, let's just say the things I do now with all my research 'n' stuff _…_ he could do 'em in elementary school"

"Your dad is a _tensai_ too?!" Hisako gasped loudly.

"Not only that, Daisuke-kun's father makes him feel stupid like you would _not_ believe" Riza-san was chuckled mercilessly as Daisuke-kun's face bloomed red with annoyance.

"Who's your dad? What does he do? Where does he work?" asked Hisako. She had to know about this man who could put Daisuke-kun back into place!

"He works in 'none of ya business' 'n' he does 'nothin' ya need to concern 'bout'" he replied sarcastically.

"Daisuke-kun _…_ " Hisako frowned in disapproval. It looked like one night of passion didn't fix his attitude problem.

 _"Fine_. He works for the government. I don't know anymore than that" he said.

"You don't even know what your dad does _…_ " said Hisako.

"He doesn't talk 'bout it 'n' I ain't interested" he replied and picked at his nails "Ya train's comin'" he said, as if trying to distract her. It didn't work on her.

Sure enough the distant whistling of the train echoed in the vast expanse of the country side. The Autumn gold never ceased to amaze her. The train came hurtling in and then it stopped with loud screeches. Daisuke-kun hefted her luggage for her and placed it onto the train, whilst she boarded herself. She turned around to face him. She filed the mystery that was Daisuke-kun's father into the back of her mind to revisit another time. She had bigger things to worry now.

"Bye Daisuke-kun" she said shyly all of a sudden.

"See ya later, sweetheart"

He reached forward and tucked a lock of her rosette hair behind her pinking ears like a gentlemen, but he winked at her like a fiend. That was just Hitsugaya Daisuke, and Arato Hisako would accept him for who he was, faults and all. Hisako gave both the residents of _Ryuusenka Apothecary_ a hearty wave before finding a seat by the window on the train.

 _'When I get back with the final nail in his coffin, Azami-dono had better start packing because like the Bible says: 'the end is nigh'_

* * *

 **Daisuke, you deserve a slap in the face and a big snog. Hisako, you're living the smutty shoujou manga dream which Erina will never know exists. I'm sure Daisuke will do his best to keep on the straight and narrow for 'his sweetheart' :) Riza will make sure he does anyway.** **Even though there won't be anymore Hisako and Daisuke stories, be assured that the two will have a... not-boring... but loving relationship from here-on-out :)**

 **I hope you've also enjoyed my OC characters Daisuke and Riza, as well as my take on our canon character Hisako! Thank you for reading and your support!**

 **I will see you in the Chapter 43** **of 'A Touch of Saffron'** **as the** **main story continues! If you're not a reader of A Touch of Saffron fare thee well and I hope we'll meet again someday :)**

 **Signing off for the last time,**

 **-TripWire-dono**


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